Rabbi Schneider - How Deep do You Want to Go?
Shalom beloved. Another one of my favorite scriptures today, Psalm number one, verse three, the Psalmist is speaking about somebody that roots their life in God as their source. And the Psalmist gives us the promise that when God is our source, no matter what is going on around us, whether you have a job, don't have a job. Whether you're young, whether you're old, whether the country is under Republican control or Democratic control, whether the stock market is up and down, when we're rooted in the Lord, we're gonna be fruitful.
Listen to what the Psalmist writes, "The person that roots themselves in the Lord will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season. And its leaf does not wither. And in whatever he does, he prospers". Jesus said he, that abides in me bears much fruit. We need to make it our aim to go deep into the waters of eternal life. You see, the Lord's spirit dwells beneath the surface. If you go, for example, to the very bottom of an ocean, regardless of what is happening on the surface of the ocean, perhaps there's a big storm going through and there's tremendous 16 foot waves on the surface at the bottom, it's calm. It's a totally different atmosphere.
The same thing is true when we learn how to go deep in the spirit of the Lord, we call in Hebrew, the Ruach HaKodesh. As we endeavor to root ourselves in eternity, to root ourselves in the timeless one, to make our first priority, to build our relationship with God, by drawing near to him, by talking to him every day from our spirit, from our heart, by seeking to be sensitive to the leading of the spirit in our life, by putting him first, what happens is the roots of our faith go deeper and deeper so that we come to a place that there's a continual flow of living water that's flowing out of us, regardless of what's happening in the surface of your life.
It's an awesome thing to know that no matter what happens, you're gonna be fruitful in the Lord. And this promise is available to anyone that will put Jesus first in their life. I know I'm talking to somebody right now. God is reaching out to you. He loves you. It's time to put aside those things that are just distractions. Those things that are holding you back and truly make Jesus Lord. If you do, beloved, you're gonna be prosperous in the sense of growing in his spirit for the rest of your life, entering into deeper and deeper realms of his shalom and peace.