Generally,
I'm a fairly decent plant caretaker. At present, I have one peace lily in my
humble abode. It's not too difficult to care for but requires watering several
times each week. Left unwatered for more than a few days though and it looks
woefully unhealthy and on its way to the compost pile.
In dire need of water |
As
I thought about it, our prayer lives can be similar. Given regular quality
prayer time, spiritually we stay healthy and connected to God but skip a few
days and things start to get ugly. When you think of God as providing pure
water essential for life, to stop drinking from His fountain means certain
spiritual decline.
It's
also important to get it directly from Him. While music, followers of Christ,
sermons, radio, blogs, books, etc. can provide encouragement in the direction
of Him, only He can provide 100% pure spiritual nourishment that will revive
and revitalize you.
Something
else that's important is eliminating unhealthy sources of sustenance. If I were
to pour battery acid in the plant, it would be dead before the day was over.
While it sounds extreme, sometimes toxic media choices, people we associate
with, and habits we engage in can act as the spiritual equivalent of battery
acid on a plant.
"whoever
drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water
that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal
life.” -John 4:14
Watered and perked up |
Next
time you water a plant or see one in need of some TLC, let it be a reminder to
pause and pray and take a drink from the fountain of spiritual life.
In
pursuit of His best,
Andrew