Rooted & Real
35 Days to Strengthen Your Soul and Walk in Purpose
by
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Day 1
Put Away Childish Things: The Cost of a New Season
Scripture Focus
“When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11 NLT).
Devotional Insight
Growth with God always costs something. You don’t get to carry old habits, immature thinking, or comfort-zone obedience into a season of new responsibility and expect a breakthrough. You can’t ask God to do something new while holding on to what’s familiar. God doesn’t just shift seasons. He shifts us. While we often pray for elevation, He often answers with pruning. He removes what no longer serves the next level. This is not because He’s punishing us, but because He’s preparing us.
This passage in 1 Corinthians isn’t just about growing older. It’s about growing deeper. Paul isn’t referencing physical age. He’s confronting spiritual immaturity. To “put away childish things” means to intentionally lay down the patterns, mindsets, and responses that once defined you but no longer serve who you’re becoming. Some of us are still reacting like wounded children in situations that demand spiritual maturity. We’re asking for more while thinking, feeling, and responding with less.
You can’t carry unforgiveness into your calling. It’ll poison your influence.
You can’t carry pride into your promotion. It’ll isolate you.
You can’t carry laziness into your leadership. It’ll stagnate your growth.
You can’t carry comparison into your purpose. It’ll drain your joy.
Here’s the hard truth: what’s childish to God isn’t always obvious to us.
Sometimes it’s the need to always have the last word.
Sometimes it’s the fear of being unseen, so we perform for people.
Sometimes it’s the avoidance of correction, because growth requires humility.
Sometimes it’s our obsession with approval, rather than alignment with God.
He’s not asking you to just “do better.” He’s asking you to become more—more grounded, more whole, more rooted in Him. That becoming will cost you the version of you that once felt safe. That becoming requires surrender. It requires trust. It requires release.
Breakthrough doesn’t come from striving. It comes from surrender, and surrender starts with release.
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About the Book
Rooted and Real: Thirty-Five Days to Strengthen Your Soul and Walk in Purpose This isn’t just another devotional. It’s a soul reset. A deeper yes. A call to slow down, dig deep, and let God do the kind of work no one sees, but everyone will feel. Rooted and Real was born in the quiet places, moments of pruning, wrestling, surrender, and healing. God didn’t just give me words. He gave me wounds that turned into wisdom. And now, this thirty-five-day journey is for anyone ready to grow strong where it counts—at the root. It’s for the man trying to lead while still healing. For the woman worn thin by the hustle but is still holding on. For the believer tired of surface-level faith, hungry for something real. Each day walks you through (1) a scripture to anchor your soul, (2) a raw, unfiltered devotional insight, (3) a real-life parallel to ground the truth in your world, (4) three reflection questions to deepen your application, and (5) a closing prayer and daily affirmation to keep you rooted. This isn’t about hype. It’s not about perfection. It’s about presence. It’s about becoming. And the fruit that comes from this kind of formation? It won’t just change your life. It will outlive it.
About the Author
Dr. VaShawn Smith is a high school principal, leadership coach, and podcast host who writes from a place of transparency, faith, and purpose. His voice is rooted in real-life leadership, fatherhood, and spiritual growth.