The other day I went golfing with some friends from church. After being in the heat for 4+hours (and not playing very well) I was spent and dehydrated. That night, I kept drinking water to hydrate my body because I was so depleted.
Do you ever feel like that spiritually? Do the cares of life deplete your soul? Are you experiencing a desert experience right now and perhaps feel far from God? Do you feel dry and thirsty for a spiritual renewal?
For me, I know I have been there numerous times and have been in need of a spiritual drenching that can only come through the Holy Spirit.
Here's something to think about - How well is your vessel able to hold the anointing that comes from God? In other words, when blessings come your way - are you able to hold on to and contain the blessings or are their leaks and cracks that empty your vessel before you even leave the parking lot at the church?
I've seen where God's spirit touches a worship service and fills the cups of those worshipping to overflowing. And yet, for some, they lose that anointing quickly because their life is filled with many cracks and holes and they are not able to "contain" that anointing within their lives.
The character flaws, the inconsistencies of spiritual disciplines, the lure of money and power, the heart of unforgiveness and the temptations of this world all drain the anointing and filling that God gave has given to us.
Then there are others who can receive "a little from the Lord" and ride that wave for weeks upon weeks. They are able to milk the precious anointing of the Holy Spirit in their lives and pull out everything promise that God has given them and even believe for more.
In fact, it is a lot like the story of the little boy who gave what he had to the Lord (his lunch) and God multiplied it to feed the multitudes who needed to be fed.
It seems instead that the anointing is increased in their lives and not depleted and they grow stronger and stronger.
“Yet the righteous will hold to his way, And he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger.” Job 17:9 NKJV
We all desire a "well-watered garden." The thought of it invokes a garden that is lush and green and vibrant. It is producing fruit and bringing much satisfaction to those attending it.
But we are all aware of when there are times that gardens die because of a lack of care or a lack or water.
May I be bold enough to say that it is not the lack of water in many of our lives but the lack of attention to our garden that has brought on the drought. The Holy Spirit comes and saturates our soul but our garden is in disrepair and needs to be fixed in order to contain the anointing.
There are many crying out for God to bring His rain into their lives and yet they don't realize that the rain has been there but their life is filled with leaks.
My prayer is this: that all of us would look at our containers today and see if we are capable of holding the anointing. We must examine ourselves and "fix" that which is broken.
“Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah.” Acts of the Apostles 3:19-20 NLT
No comments:
Post a Comment