Enriched in Everything, Lessons of An Oak Tree-1 Corinthians 1:4

1 Corinthians 1:4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given

to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all

knowledge,”

What does it take to be “enriched in everything by Him”?

Many people fail to recognize what it takes to get from a place of spiritual infancy to a place of spiritual

enrichment. It does not come through pleasant times. The Oak tree does not grow tall and strong, and

develop into a large, massive oak tree on calm, breezy days. It is the storms of life that beat against the

oak tree that strengthens its root system. Usually, it’s only on pleasant days that we recognize the beautiful oak tree. We don’t see the years that it has weathered the storms of life and stood against the fiercest winds. We don’t see the

years of the oak tree standing strong in the worst droughts or standing all alone during fierce thunderstorms.

No, the oak tree is “enriched in every way” and made beautiful through the storms of life. Nobody sees

the work it does just to stand there and endure. Nobody notices or sees all the time the oak tree spends

standing alone. In the same way, people will not see how long you will need to stand for Christ, and

many times it will be standing all alone. Nobody sees the times alone with God you spend in the

secret place in the early morning hours, which strengthens your faith. Nobody sees the choices you make

in private to honor God, stand for truth, or refuse to engage in sin.

Nobody may see on the outside, but God will always see when you stand for truth, and He will

one day reward you openly for how you have stood the test of time for His Word and stood on your

faith in Him, when the world tried to go the opposite way. God is waiting for you to put in the difficult

and challenging work of developing your faith in God and looking for discipline and steadfastness on

your part, before He will reward you openly.

Ephesians 6:13 says, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Sometimes all we can do is stand firm in our faith in God’s Word. That is all God requires of us sometimes. As the Oak tree has stood the test of time, God is waiting for each of us to stand firm in our faith in Him, even if standing is all we can do. Sometimes it may feel like you are not making any forward progress. All God is looking for you to do is stand, secure and steadfast on the unchangeable and unshakable Word of God.

Another lesson we can learn from the Oak tree is that its roots go deep into the earth to support it. The roots go deep into the earth to draw from a water source(s) to survive even the fiercest droughts. For us, our source is Christ and His love. Ephesians 3:17-19 says, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” To truly be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ means we are rooted in something or someone deeper than ourselves, and that “someone” is Jesus Christ. In Him, we find our identity, strength, and hope for living.

Acts 17:28 tells us, “In Him, we live, move, and have our being.” To truly have the strength of an oak tree, our roots must run down deep into the love of Christ. Jesus must become the centerpiece and cornerstone of our lives. Every thought, word, action, and feeling should come into alignment with Jesus and His Word. Nobody realizes the price to pay for those who want to step into the place of being “enriched in every way” or living in the place of the favor and blessings of God. God wants to bring you into that place of Spiritual victory, and abundant life He has promised. However, first God needs to bring you through the refiner’s fire to mold you and conform you to the image of His Son Jesus. There is a glory waiting for you to walk into, but there is also a transformation process you must go through to get to

that place of glory and Spiritual victory. God is looking for you to master the discipline of walking in

Holiness, repentance, and forgiveness, before you are ready to step into the glory He has prepared for

you. 2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the

Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the

Lord.”

*Transform here is the word, metamorphoo which is the same word for metamorphosis