Meditation

Read Ephesians 3:14-21

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power … to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.—Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV)

I have moved to a different part of the country a total of 11 times. As I write this, I am about to move again to be near one of my sons and his family some distance away from my present home. I am in my 80s and have lived here almost 17 years, which is the longest time I’ve spent in the same house and town. Every move means leaving behind good friends and sometimes family members, then adjusting and settling in to a new home, new church, new surroundings, new job or stage of retirement, and making new friends.

However, the Lord has always given me a relevant text to confirm God’s guidance and strength for each of my moves. This time it was the reassurance the Lord gave to Moses in Exodus 33:14, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

What matters most is how we are rooted before and after a move. Paul’s prayer for the Christians in Ephesus underlines that being firmly rooted in faith in Christ is the surest way to be resilient, to grow, and to produce fruit where we have been planted. If we are rooted in the love of Christ, we have nothing to fear because we know that God will be with us.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that we can step into the future confidently because we know you are with us. Amen.

Thought for the day: When I am rooted in Christ’s love, I can feel at home anywhere.

—Hazel V. Thompson, United Kingdom