together and waited for the storm to pass. After the storm, he checked out his house and property for damage. In his backyard, there were two big trees—an oak tree and a hackberry tree. Tim found the big hackberry knocked over the fence. With the entire tree out of the ground, he could see that there were no roots to the tree. But the oak tree was still standing, majestic. It withstood this 50-year storm. The root system of this hardy oak was deep and strong. On the outside, independent and dependent men can both look strong and healthy. But the independent man doesn’t have any roots while the dependent man has the roots that go deep. The independent man tries to stand alone, but the dependent man holds on to God and his friends for support. And when the storms come—and they always do—we can see what a man is holding on to. 47 Wednesday—September 6•Got Roots? They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. (Jeremiah 17:8) Tim lived in New Orleans and went through Hurricane Katrina. He and his family huddled How have you weathered life’s storms such as illness, financial crisis, death or others? Were you dependent or independent? Daily Reading: Song of Solomon 1:1–4:16, 2 Corinthians 8:16–24, Psalm 50:1–23, Proverbs 22:22–23 Thursday—September 7•Words of Faith How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the MIMBS 8 morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:14–15 NLT) Christian men struggle with independency. We create a plan and then hope God will bless it. We may try to make the Bible fit our way of thinking. The dependent man is holding the Bible tightly in his hands, praying and seeking God’s will, allowing God to lead him. He doesn’t do it perfectly and God doesn’t always work things out like he would hope, so he adjusts along the way, but continues to trust in the Lord. He understands that he will be like a tree planted by waters and sends out roots to the stream. Drought and heat will come, but he does not fear and he never fails to bear fruit. It’s all about who is in charge—trusting in man or trusting in the Lord. The dependent man understands that he lives, serves, worships and is blessed at the pleasure of God. MIMBS 8 Is there one area of your life that’s particularly difficult to entrust to the Lord? Share your thoughts with another man. Daily Reading: Song of Solomon 5:1–8:14, 2 Corinthians 9:1–15, Psalm 51:1–19, Proverbs 22:24–25
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