Faith Like an Oak Tree

A couple of weeks ago, I was hiking through our woods when I came across the strangest-looking mushroom growing right in the middle of my trail.

It was bright red with little yellowish-white spots all over it and looked almost Disney-like. For a second, I actually wondered if one of the kids had dropped a toy on the way to the creek.

I’ve been walking these woods for about 40 years, and I don’t remember ever seeing a mushroom quite like it.

I stopped and snapped a picture before continuing on my way. I’m glad I did because when I walked the trail again the next day, it was gone.

Isn’t that something? It seemingly popped up overnight, caught my attention with all that color, and disappeared almost as quickly.

It reminded me of a conversation I had with some friends recently. We were talking about faith and what it really means to have a faith that lasts.

One friend said something that stuck with me. She said that faith isn’t like a mushroom that pops up overnight in soft, fertile soil. True faith is more like an oak tree that grows in hard ground, sending its roots deep so it can withstand the storms when its branches are tossed around.

I’ve thought about that ever since.

We all want the kind of faith that stands firm when life gets hard. We want to trust God when the diagnosis comes, when finances get tight, when someone we love is hurting, when a prayer seems to go unanswered, or when the future looks nothing like we expected. But that kind of faith usually doesn’t appear overnight. It’s grown.

Day after day. Prayer after prayer. Scripture after Scripture. One decision after another to ​trust God​ even when we don’t understand what He’s doing.

It’s a little like an oak tree. For years, much of its most important work is happening where nobody can see it. While the tree is reaching upward, its roots are spreading and growing deeper underground, anchoring it.

Then ​the storm comes​. The wind howls. The branches whip back and forth. Some smaller limbs may even break. But the tree remains. Not because the storm wasn’t powerful, but because the roots were already there before the storm arrived.

I think that’s such a beautiful picture of our walk with God. Sometimes we may wonder whether those ordinary days of reading our Bible, praying, worshiping, and choosing to trust Him are really making a difference.

They are. We’re growing roots. And eventually, life will bring a storm. Jesus never promised us otherwise. In fact, He told His disciples plainly, “In this world you will have trouble.” But He followed it with these words: “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33

Faith doesn’t mean our branches will never be tossed. It means we’re anchored to Someone who will hold us when they are.

That little mushroom in the woods was beautiful, and I’m glad I happened to be there during its very brief appearance. But I don’t want a mushroom faith—something that springs up quickly when conditions are good and disappears just as fast.

I want an oak-tree faith. One that has been growing for years. One with roots that keep reaching deeper. One that can bend when the winds blow without being uprooted.

And perhaps that’s a good question for all of us today: Are we growing the roots now that will hold us steady when the next storm comes?

August 28, 2026 Morning Brew