Fill The Well
Have you ever been dehydrated? You know that feeling right? Your body tells you that it needs water. Nothing else will do. You need water.
There are other things that you could drink in place of the water:
Juice
Soda
Whiskey
Coffee
Energy Drinks
When your body is dehydrated, it only wants water. Nothing else will satisfy the craving for water except water.
Have you ever been spiritually dehydrated?
Think about it.
You once had a thriving, passionate, dynamic, devoted relationship with Jesus and then…BOOM! You woke up one day and didn’t realize where you were. You felt distant, like you were drifting alone at sea. Your spirit is calling out for help, but you can’t hear a response.
You don’t doubt your salvation, but there is something wrong. You know that you are not as close to Jesus as you used to be.
Jesus never left.
You did.
When you neglect feeding your spirit the Word or letting it drink from the Living Water, you are starving it from what sustains it. You are robbing it of its essential nutrients.
Your well is empty.
This is where a lot of people like to complain about their church. They say that they don’t like the worship. They say that they aren’t getting fed. They also say that the pastor is not deep enough for them. They start noticing problems in their family. Their marriage is not what it used to be. You get upset at every little thing someone says to you. You might even go so far as to say that you want to leave your church because of what someone said to you. You rationalize that none of this is your fault.
Your well is dry.
The problem is not that you are not getting fed on Sunday. Sunday is not going to help you a whole lot if you are starving yourself the rest of the week.
More people fast from the Bible than they fast from food. They would rather feed their physical body while neglecting the spirit that dwells inside them.
Your prayer time seems like it takes effort. You no longer lift up the name of the Lord in praise. It is not a joy. Bible reading seems like going to work instead of sitting down in the presence of your Heavenly Father and being opened to what He has for you that day. You don’t talk about Jesus or share the gospel anymore because your passion and devotion have drained. Fear and anxiety have taken the place of where faith used to reside.
Spiritual dehydration has settled in.
Want to be refreshed and re-hydrated?
Fill the well.
You can’t obey, make disciples, share the gospel or serve well if you are consistently running on empty. You have to fill the well.
We all run into spots where we can become spiritually dehydrated. However, we are on this journey together. You are not alone.
Let’s fill the well.
Filling the well starts with repentance. You have to put down whatever it is that has kept you from your relationship with Jesus. Whatever has stolen your heart is an idol. You have to put your idols to death or they will continue to rob you of passion, devotion, and joy.
We have to begin to rekindle our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Pick up your Bible and pray that you will be overwhelmed with joy. Pray that reading the Bible becomes something that you enjoy and that you do not see it as a chore. You should want to hear from your Heavenly Father. He delights in His relationships with His children. We want to cultivate our relationship with Him so that we regain the intimacy that we once had with Him.
We need to be intentional about growing. It is good to grow up. We need to take steps in obedience to our Heavenly Father to grow because maturity is a sign that we have become the disciples that He has called us to be and we are in the process of making disciples.
In addition to obedience, we all need to spend time with other Christians. They have to opportunity to edify, encourage, and provoke us to love and good works in Christ.
You can’t pour out unless you are filled up. Let’s pray that once you are filled up, that you pour yourself out into the lives of others, but you never let the well run dry.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jimmy