roots before fruit

THRIVING STARTS UNDERGROUND

If I asked you your favorite season, chances are you'd say fall (sweaters and pumpkin chai), spring (blooms and sunshine), or summer (pools, popsicles, and paradise). Winter rarely makes the list. It feels cold, dead, and dreary—like nothing is growing.
And yet, that’s exactly what a hidden season feels like.



I walked through one myself. No doors were opening. No big breakthroughs. No clear direction. It wasn’t a season of crisis. I wasn’t even really discouraged. I was just… waiting. I’d show up each day, but nothing felt like it was growing. There wasn’t any forward movement. What was I missing?
Why did everything feel so still—so stuck?



There’s always a gap between planting and harvest—a season that feels quiet and still. But here’s the truth: Just because something isn’t visible doesn’t mean it isn’t vital. 

Growth doesn’t stop in the winter —it just moves under the ground. Roots deepen and strengthen even when nothing appears on the surface. Dormancy has value. It allows for rest, repair, and preparation. 
Winter's quiet conditions build character and create resilience. 
Winter toughens plants—and people. What survives winter is often stronger, more grounded, and ready to thrive.

Winter is often when the most important work happens–the kind you can’t always see but couldn’t live without.



What survives winter is often stronger, more grounded, and ready to thrive.


Hidden seasons are difficult. They often come uncelebrated. They are slow and unnoticed. Quiet faithfulness often doesn’t receive applause. There’s no affirmation for roots growing in the dark. And it’s in these moments you may find yourself wondering, “Is this really what I’m called to?” “Will I ever see fruit?” 

But hidden doesn’t mean forgotten.

Some of the most powerful moments in history happened in the hidden places: Life begins in the womb. Resurrection happened in a sealed tomb. Every great tree starts in dark and quiet soil. 

Before anything bears fruit, it must take root. This includes us.

Isaiah 37:31 says, “The surviving remnant shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.” This is the pattern of the Kingdom—down before up. Depth before display. Roots before fruit. 

Not even Jesus skipped the process. He spent 30 years in obscurity before stepping out into public ministry. Thirty years of growth before three years of visible impact.

“The surviving remnant shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.”

— Isaiah 37:31

Luke 2:52 tells us that in those hidden years, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” It was a time of deep growth for Him. 
No stage or platform. No public affirmation. No attention.
Just deep, hidden growth. Formation. Rooting. Beautiful faithfulness.

If Jesus embraced a season of hiddenness, how much more should we? 



If you find yourself in a winter season, you’re not stuck—you’re being rooted. 
So often we want to rush through the underground work and get straight to the fruit. But we can’t produce lasting fruit without deep roots. You can’t skip the hidden season and stand tall in the storm. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” (Colossians 2:6-7) Don’t give up. If you’re in a season where it looks like nothing is growing, keep pressing in. He’s preparing you.

Because what he builds in private is what will one day hold everything in public. The deeper the roots, the stronger the fruit.

I want to bear fruit that is good and lasting—and I’m sure you do too.

The deeper the roots, the stronger the fruit.

Jesus tells us how in John 15:4-5: “Remain in me, as I also remain in you… If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” 

This kind of abiding doesn’t usually happen in the visible and celebrated seasons. It happens in the quiet ones. By yourself. The seasons that feel slow. Hidden. Unseen. The seasons that are underground. 
So, if you’re in a winter season: Don’t mistake the unseen for the unimportant.

The soil isn’t your enemy -- it’s actually the birthplace of strength. 


Question: 


What small, faithful step can you take today to stay rooted, even when nothing seems to be visible?

Prayer:


Lord, help us to trust the work that You’re doing beneath the surface. When it feels like we’re stuck and nothing is moving, help us continue to fix our eyes on You. Thank you that you’re constantly at work in our lives, preparing us for what’s ahead. You are faithful and we can trust You. Use the hidden seasons to strengthen us, deepen our roots, and ready us for what’s next.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.