Daily Devotion for May 18, 2025

Devotion:

For an audio version of this devotion, click here.

Read Jeremiah 17:7-8.

The prophet states that blessing comes from trusting in the Lord and compares that trust to a tree that is planted by the water, so that its roots can go deep. It is a good reminder of how life is sustained over time.

You have probably seen trees of various sizes which have fallen over, with their roots exposed. (If you haven’t seen them in person, maybe you have seen the pictures.) In some cases, the tree was rather large, and the roots were also of significant size. But the force of the storm was still enough to uproot the tree and bring it down.

At least one life lesson I see here is that we should never stop sinking the roots of our life deeper and deeper in the Spirit of God. The water in this image is a common Biblical illustration of a life-giving resource, reminding us of the God who gave us life. Wisdom tells us to put our roots down in soil that is near that water, because it will always be soft enough to let our roots go deeper. Then when the storms come, those roots will allow us to keep standing and to continue to grow after the storm.

Where are you sinking the roots of your life? And what are you doing to allow those roots to keep growing and going deeper?

Personal Worship Option:

Offer this prayer or one in your own words: Creating God, thank you for your invitation and encouragement to sink the roots of my life in you. Help me trust you more and more every day, in all situations, knowing that increasing trust deepens my roots in you. Through Christ, Amen.