"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8.
Those of you who know anything about have house plants probably know what it means for a plant to be "pot-bound". You may have a plant that you started from a tiny shoot or from another plant. In tine that plant starts to grow and becomes too large for the small pot that it is in. The roots of that plant have grown very long and have to curl up in a tight mass because they have no room to grow. The plant begins to lose its brightness, the leaves loose their dark green color and frequently turn yellow and fall off the plant. This plant has become pot-bound. No matter how much you water it and care for it, it still doesn't grow as it did before it became pot-bound. I had a plant such as that, the roots were even exposed above the soil and the soil seemed to be diminishing. I knew this plant had to be repotted because its roots had no room to continue to grow. It didn't produce the beautiful red flow like it used to, and the leaves were frequently falling and branches becoming bare. After I replanted it in a larger pot and moved it to a larger space where it could spread with freedom to grow, it really prospered.
Our lives are like this plant. God wants to give us eagle wings so that we can grow and fly and be free from bondage. Anxiety, fear, and unbelief n our life can make us pot-bound. We've got to trust God and know without a shadow of a doubt, that He knows what He is doing and that He is in control of our life. Sickness can make us pot-bound so that we cannot do the work of the Lord. Instead of being bound up and tangled up with Jesus, we are focusing on our infirmities. The beauty of Jesus cannot be seen in our life because we are pot-bound with no room to spread. We cannot function to our full capacity. The flower of our life cannot bloom because we have no room for our roots to spread and receive the oxygen needed to maintain life. The "water of the Word" cannot reach its mark to give proper nourishment so that our life can flourish and show forth the glory of the Lord. Jabez prayed that God would enlarge his boarder, and God answered his prayer. (1 Chronicles 4:10).
We need to pray that same prayer and allow the Holy Spirit to straighten out our roots and give us more room to grow. If we allow Him, He will transplant us and move us to a larger place, a better environment where we can grow and be a blessing to those around us. God will bring people into our life who need a word of encouragement, who need someone who can get a prayer through, who need a listening ear and a caring heart. But we cannot be that someone if we are pot-bound and our roots tangled up with fear and unbelief, and the cares of this world. God wants to put us in a large place so that He can use us and get the glory out of our life. Our purpose is to glorify Him! Allow the Holy Spirit to shake out those roots and bring you into a large place where the life force of Jesus can water those roots; and then you will grow more beautifully for the glory of God's kingdom. "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." John 8:36.
