Bent Over in the Winds of Life?

I’m not sure if the wind ever quits blowing in West Texas. It may settle in the night, but by mid-morning it’s roaring again. You can tell by many of the trees, who seem bent over permanently that the wind has blown for many years. Although the trees are bent by the wind they aren’t completely blown over. Especially the mesquite tree. Its roots grow deep. They can reach 200 feet beneath the surface. For a tree that grows a maximum of 30 feet tall, that’s a lot of root system. Because of the tap root of each tree, they are able to survive even in drought. The constant wind combined with little average rainfall would take its toll on the average willow tree, but the mesquite is equipped to handle the adverse growing conditions.




There are times when we feel bent over in the winds of life. Tragedy, disappointment and fear coming blowing through and we don’t know if we can stand. A friend called me and she literally said she didn’t know if she should hang on or just let go. I understand. This world is getting dryer and dryer and the winds are howling at the very foundations of our hearts and souls. If we don’t have a root system of truth to keep us grounded, we will break loose like tumbleweeds and be blown by any wind that comes along.



The Word of God is our root system. Without it as our foundational truth, we have no strength to hang on in trouble. We have no way of pulling up the nutrients we need to live and thrive. Droughts of faith come along and we feel parched and wilted. Winds of trouble, trials and tyranny blow in and without our tap root running deep into the Word, we’ll be plucked out of the good ground and left with no hope, no strength and no health.



God knows our needs. Every single one of them. He understands that we must be watered regularly with prayer, faith, hope and love. Without the basic elements of the Word we won’t make it. Without the foundational truth of who we are in Christ and how He provides for us, we won’t thrive in the desert times that come to all of us. We must know God, realize who we are, what we believe in and how we are to live in order to live with purpose and strength in a land of adversity and hopelessness.



Oh beloved, run to God’s Word this morning and take it in. Drink deeply of all that God has for you. Study it closely for it is your very life’s blood. God has made a way to keep you rooted and grounded for all of your needs. As He calls you this morning He speaks with love and care. He is your stronghold in trouble, your shade in the heat and your water in the drought. He sees your troubles and He knows you are in desperate need. His Word will replenish your provisions, replace your nutrients and revive your entire being. He calls from the depths of His love and He beckons you to sit beneath the shade of His Word. Every Word is written with your needs in mind.



The winds of trouble won’t always howl the way they may be right now in your life but you will find that as you seek the solace of His Truth in troubled times you will be stronger when the storm is over. His Word is love and His Truth is your only source of strength. Keep it close to you always, for He loves you and He’s for you and His Word will always remind you of that love and care.



Psalm 18:1-3;30 I love you, Lord; You are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.



Isaiah 40:29 He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound]. (Amplified)



Psalm 1:2-3 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.