The Loop

Have you ever found yourself asking, "Why did I do what I did when I did what I knew I shouldn't do?" If so, you're not alone. This question has plagued humanity since the beginning of time. Even the Apostle Paul struggled with this very issue when he wrote in Romans 7, "I do not understand what I do, for what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do."

Your Life Is Like a Tree

What I want you to see is that your life is like a tree. This isn't just a clever analogy – it's a Biblical truth found throughout Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Every tree produces fruit of some sort, and Jesus himself tells us in Luke 6:44, "Each tree is recognized by its own fruit."

The fruit growing on your tree – your actions, behaviors, and patterns – is visible to everyone around you. Your spouse, your children, your coworkers, and your friends all eat of the fruit of your tree. So what kind of fruit are you producing?

What's Really Growing on Your Tree?

Perhaps the most terrifying thing is that the only way to really know what fruit is growing on your tree is to ask the people closest to you. Do you have sinful patterns in your life that, no matter how hard you try, you can't seem to break?

These might include things like lust, greed, laziness, envy, pride, rage, or gluttony. But beyond these sins, there are also unhealthy behaviors that entangle us – bitterness, unforgiveness, lack of self-control, manipulation, or controlling others.

Fear: The Root of the Problem

After much reflection and conversation with other pastors and believers, I've come to believe that one word describes what's happening beneath the surface: fear.

I asked many godly people what fears drive them, and here's some of what was shared:

• "I'm afraid I'm not enough."
• "I'm afraid my life won't make a difference."
• "I'm afraid no one will love me."
• "I'm afraid of being rejected."
• "I'm afraid of failing."
• "I'm afraid of what others think of me."

Did you see yourself in any of these? Did you see yourself in any of these? Once we identify a fear in our hearts, we can know that fear is producing a fruit. You might identify it with a "therefore" statement that explains our actions. For example, "I'm afraid of missing out, therefore I'll stay up late when I should be resting, go places I shouldn't go, do things I shouldn't do."

A New Root System

To produce new fruit on our trees, we need a new root system. And here's the beautiful truth: God must do a work in you that you cannot do for yourself.

In Ezekiel 11, God promises, "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them. I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh." This is what Jesus came to do – to replace our heart of stone with a heart that's responsive to Him.

As Paul writes in 2 Timothy 1:7, "God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power and of love and of self-discipline." Through the Holy Spirit, God produces new fruit in our lives – "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).

Putting It Into Practice

Here's your homework assignment:

1. Identify a fear that drives you. Write it down.
2. Add a "therefore" statement to it. "Because I'm afraid of _____, therefore I _____."
3. Bring this awareness before God in prayer.

As David writes in Psalm 1:1-3, the person who delights in God's Word is "like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season." When we plant our roots deep in God, we become the men and women He created us to be.

If you do this work, you have the potential to change your entire story and leave a legacy for generations to come. What kind of seed are you planting in the lives of those around you?

Let's partner with God as He does a work in us that we cannot do ourselves. Let's take back the ground the enemy has stolen and produce fruit that reflects the new heart God has given us.

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