“For
he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its
roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be
green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from
yielding fruit. ” Jeremiah 17:8
stopped by the church last week to chat with me. He shared some of his
frustrations about his spiritual life and told me where he wanted to be.
listening to him talk was he was trying to pour out, but he wasn’t being filled
enough to give anything of substance
away. He was tired due to a hectic schedule, work, lack of rest, and trying to
help in too many areas of the church.
the love and passion you have for your ministry, for the church and the people
in it. But you can’t be effective if you have nothing to give. And if you don’t
take some time for yourself–to soak–you’re going to shrivel up and cough out
dust to the ones you want to saturate with living water.”
busy ministering to others, we forget we need to be filled ourselves. You can’t
run a ministry and never sit in the
service under the shepherd, skip small groups that will minister the Word, or neglect
personal time in the Word for whatever excuses
reasons.
this person was neglecting his personal time with God. But he needed to sit a
little longer. Soak until his skin puckered.
We need to soak in God’s word personally, from pastors, teachers, and other
ministries.
to soak, I’m not giving you license to sit on a pew or in a chair and take and
take and never give. There’s a balance.
goes in, needs to come out. That’s the point of soaking.
for a minute. Hang with me. Fascinating creations, aren’t they? Most every tree
branch raises its limbs to the heavens, except the Willow and I have to wonder
if it’s called Weeping because it’s not praising the Lord. I don’t know. Something
to think about.
planted, water is taken in at the root and carried up with nutrients through
the trunk and into the leaves.
of tree water is eventually dispersed from the leaf stomata through
evaporation, into the atmosphere.
called transpiration.
from the word “transpire” which means, “to come to light or be
known.” Latin trans + spirare = to breathe.
tree keeps 10%, enough to stay alive and healthy, the rest it breathes out for
others to breathe in.
of the water of the Word in our lives. We need to daily soak our roots in it. We need to let it travel from where we’re planted (by
living water), through the trunk of our body–saturating our stomach’s
desires, filling our lungs with praise,
and protecting our hearts, until it reaches our limbs. Leaves like our
fingers and tongue. Letting Light be known. Breathing out and giving
life-giving air to the atmosphere around us.
stay healthy and strong.
away.
weren’t meant to hoard God. We were meant to give Him away.
we weren’t meant to give until we have nothing left to keep going.
trees can stay sustained at this rate. I think we can too.
grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so
that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” Mark 4:32
do you fall? Is it time to give some away? Are you giving and skipping on
soaking up water in your roots? And do you have a favorite tree? Why do you
love it?