How can you share your water with people if you keep drinking it all then choose to never go get more? It’s the same when it comes to the fruit of your relationship with the Lord. If you choose to only spend time with Him once a week, you’ll run out really quick and you’ll be left feeling weak and weary.
Recently the Lord has been teaching me what it’s like to live out of the overflow of my intimacy with Him. Every single day I get to teach English to about 100-130 students, some of whom speak minimal to no English. Our desire for them is to learn English while encountering Jesus. If you’ve ever taught a language from the beginning or from the basics, you understand the difficulties that arise. You have to have more patience than the average human, and you must be slow to frustration and quick to respond with grace and compassion. Sometimes teaching English is a very, very slow process and sometimes it’s as smooth as butter. But either way, leading from a posture of humility, grace, and love will take you further than preparation. If you choose to do otherwise, you’ll burn out quickly and could begin to resent the honor of your position. It’s too easy to empty yourself out and forget to fill back up daily.
Isaiah 40:31 says that those who wait on the Lord will have their strength renewed. It says they will run and not grow weary.
I don’t know about you, but when I live from the flesh I am working at my weakest. I get impatient, easily frustrated, and without renewing my mind daily to what the Lord has for me that day I burn out quickly. When I refill myself daily, eventually I’m so filled that my cup runs over. Then I can’t help but walk in joy, while extending grace, love & compassion like I’ll never get to again.
Now, I understand that it’s not always butterflies and rainbows after you spend time with the Lord. Sometimes you leave quiet time still feeling upset or defeated or still questioning things. But no matter how you feel coming out of time spent with the Lord, spiritually you never leave the same and your spirit it never weaker than before. And I know that when God says ask and you shall receive, He means it. Intimacy with God isn’t built way up after one afternoon spent with Him. It takes consistency on our part and the denial of our flesh. It takes a desire to learn more about Him and to love more of Him.
So my challenge to you is to begin your day asking the Lord to fill you where you’re empty and to make you aware of those areas. If you already know where you’re lacking, awesome, you’re one step ahead. Ask Him to fill the voids. Then go to His word and see what it has to say about what you need more of (love, patience, compassion, etc.)
Thanks for reading, friends. I appreciate y’all more than you know.
-Shelbs
