Roots That Reach the River

A Lenten Devotional for Thursday in the Second Week of Lent

“Often Lazarus represents our own spiritually poor, starving,  wounded, and empty souls.”

~Shane Bryant

Opening Reflection

    Some trees grow tall and green because their roots reach deep into living water. Others stand in the desert pretending to live. From a distance they may look the same. They both have branches. They both have leaves. But when the heat comes—when drought arrives—only one survives.

     In this season of Lent, let's ask a question, one that can shake the foundations of a life:

Where are your roots?

     The prophet Jeremiah warns us that a life built on human strength alone becomes like a shrub in the desert—dry, brittle, and unable to see relief when it comes. But the one who trusts in the Lord becomes like a tree planted beside the river, drawing life from waters that never run dry.

     And Jesus, in His parable of the rich man and Lazarus, reminds us that it is possible to gain everything the world offers… and still lose our soul.

The Collect

O Lord, strong and mighty, Lord of hosts and King of glory: Cleanse our hearts from sin, keep our hands pure, and turn our minds from what is passing away; so that at the last we may stand in your holy place and receive your blessing; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Scripture Lessons

Jeremiah 17:5–10

“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.

They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.”

Psalm 1:3

“They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season.”

Luke 16:19–31

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

Devotional Reading

     Sometimes we misunderstand the story of Lazarus. We imagine that Lazarus is always the poor stranger at the gate—and indeed, it is of utmost importance that we never neglect the poor and suffering among us.

But there is another truth hidden in the story.

     Sometimes Lazarus is not the stranger outside the gate. Sometimes Lazarus represents our own spiritually poor, neglected,  and wounded soul. Our soul stands at the gate within us, it cries out to the heart and intellect to seek out our truth, to reach for a greater purpose, calling, for Heaven's  will. The soul asks to be fed from Heaven’s  table,  to be filled with "Living Waters."

     The rich man in Jesus’ parable lived in comfort. His table was full. His clothing was fine. His life looked successful. Yet he ignored the suffering that lay directly in front of him. Many of us do the same thing—not with another person, but with our own soul.

     I know this because I did it. For nearly 29 years, I chased success in sales and marketing. I worked hard. I learned the systems. I built relationships. By many standards, I succeeded.

     My very first job in sales was as a Chevrolet salesman. In that world you quickly learn that you must have thick skin. You are trained to maximize profit, to push financial products customers may not need, and sometimes to stretch deals beyond what is truly fair.

     Every sale brought success. Every deal brought commission. But sometimes, deep inside, something else was happening.

My  conscience began to whisper.

My soul began to dry.

     To be fair, not every dealership operates that way, and later I was blessed to work in more honest and ethical sales roles. Yet even in those positions, the relentless pressure of territory sales—the long drives, the quotas, the corporate expectations—began to wear on my body and spirit. The stress eventually began affecting my health.

     Looking back now, I realize something painful but honest: My soul had become that desert shrub Jeremiah described. I had spent decades chasing the comfortable path—the reliable paycheck, the stable career—while ignoring the deeper calling placed in my heart long ago. God had given me gifts as a writer, a speaker, and a student of music. But those dreams felt uncertain, risky, and impractical. So I buried them beneath the responsibilities of adulthood.

Until the drought came.

     Sometimes God allows the drought because He loves us too much to let our roots stay in the wrong soil. As I began seeking God more deeply through prayer and fasting, something began to change. Ideas for devotionals began to flow. Songs returned to my heart. Stories for novels began forming in my imagination.

It was as though a dry tree had finally reached the river.

     And suddenly I understood the words of Jesus to the woman at the well: “Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)

God is the Living Water.

     When our lives are rooted in Him, even the drought cannot destroy us. Each of us has been given gifts and callings that were planted in our hearts by God Himself. For one person it may be teaching. For another, craftsmanship. For another, music, cooking, architecture, or engineering.

     But when we chase only security, only comfort, only success—we risk ignoring the deeper calling placed within us. And that is how a soul slowly dries in the desert.

Another Story: A Soul That Found the River

    The great Christian writer C. S. Lewis once described the restless hunger within the human heart. Despite intellectual success and academic achievement, Lewis wrestled with the realization that nothing in the world fully satisfied the longing within him.

He famously wrote:

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”¹

     Lewis eventually discovered that the longing he felt was pointing him toward God Himself—the true source of living water.

Another powerful example is the life of Johnny Cash.

     Cash became one of the most famous musicians in America, yet behind the fame and success his life spiraled into addiction. By the late 1960s he was heavily dependent on amphetamines and alcohol, and his career and relationships were collapsing.

     At one of his lowest moments, Cash entered Nickajack Cave in Tennessee, intending to die. Exhausted and hopeless, he sat in the darkness believing his life was over.

    But in that moment he experienced something he later described as a profound encounter with God’s presence. Cash turned his life around, overcame addiction, and began using his music to speak openly about faith, redemption, and grace.

Later in life he reflected:

“My life has been full of terrible things… but I’ve learned that God’s grace is greater than all my mistakes.”²

Cash’s story reminds us that no life is too broken for the river of God’s mercy.

 

A Charge for the Day

During this season of Lent, ask yourself a simple but honest question:

Where are my roots?

Are they buried in the shifting soil of success, approval, or comfort?

Or are they reaching toward the Living Water of God?

Spend time today in prayer and quiet reflection. Ask God to reveal the places in your life where your soul has been drying in the desert.

Then listen carefully.

Because sometimes the first step toward the river is simply the courage to admit that you are thirsty.

Closing Prayer

Lord God,

You are the Living Water that sustains every soul. When our hearts chase after things that cannot satisfy, call us back to Yourself. Plant our lives beside the river of Your grace. Heal the dry places within us, restore the gifts You have placed in our hearts, and give us courage to follow the path You have prepared for us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

 

Footnotes

C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (HarperOne, 1952).

Johnny Cash with Patrick Carr, Cash: The Autobiography (HarperCollins, 1997).