Standing Firm in Your Faith

Lessons From the Live Oak

Translation Matters

            God’s word instructs us to draw strength from the Lord. When I reflect on these words, I am reminded that God is the trustworthy source of our strength. “Be strong” is more accurately translated as “be strengthened.”

Vulnerable Trees

            As a child, I adored trees. I often climbed their branches and feasted on their fruit. I considered them strong, invincible. But that illusion was shattered in the fall of my eleventh year.

            I was out riding my bicycle after school when a violent storm known as the Big Blow hit Oregon’s Willamette Valley. At first, being carried down neighborhood streets was thrilling, but soon, my fun turned to terror. Thankfully, an elderly neighbor saw my plight. He loaded me and my bike in his truck and took me home.

            Trees were decimated from Northern California to British Columbia, Canada. The estimated board feet of lumber lost would have built a million homes. My neighborhood was hit hard, and I had to adjust my thinking.

Not all trees or people fare well in the storms of life.

The Application

            The live oak is known for its ability to withstand hurricane-force winds. The unique way God designed this tree holds clues to standing firm in our faith.

1.     The tall ones will be brought low. “Isaiah 10:33 NIV

o   A live oak is relatively short and rarely over 50’

o   But its canopy can be over 150’ wide and shelter many.

o   May we not be proud but be a refuge to many.

2.     “Resist him (Satan) standing firm in the faith because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kinds of suffering. “…” I Peter 5:9

o   We are not alone in our sufferings.

o   The strength of the oak is its interconnected root system.

o   Each tree plays a part in supporting its neighbor in storms, just as we are called to support the body of believers.

3.     The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

o   Like the oak, we have all the components we need to be hardy.

o   We only need to be rooted in Christ and His word.

o   We need to take time to rest in the Lord and be strengthened.

Are you storm-ready?

Are you rooted and built up in Him?

Are you being strengthened in the faith?

Are you overflowing with thankfulness?

Based on Colossians 2;7

Don’t let your faith fizzle before the finish!

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