Living Water

Our friend Thomas told us once that the best way to grow a tree was to give it excessive amounts of water, and then, leave it be for a long stretch before going back to water it again. He makes his living with plants, so I had a pretty good idea that he was right, and he was.

I use this technique for every plant that I grow. I bought a few plants for the fall season, and sure enough, I found myself watering them until their soil was sopping wet. I’ll leave them for a couple of weeks and come back and do it again.

There’s something that happens every time that I’m standing over those plants. It’s His way. It’s how the Lord grows us. He pours Himself out into our spirit until we are saturated with His goodness, but inevitably we begin to feel the heat of persecution, and the rains of friendship and family are nowhere to be found. Our roots begin to grow deeper and stronger in search of the living water that He has poured into us. In His perfect time after the persecution and drought have done their job, He comes by, and we willingly accept the coolness of His perfect water.  
 
It’s the ebb and flow of sanctification.
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But, the roots
When will we allow our roots to grow?
How long will we wait for the rains of friendship and family to give us life?
We wait for the rains until we are wilted and bitter.
When will we release our relationships for the satisfying water of the One who loves us most?
 
How often do we find our identity in the ones that leave, in the ones that let us down, in the ones that were never designed to sustain?
 
Children grow up.
Spouses grow tired.
Parents grow old.
Friends grow apart.
 
People step in and out of the doors of our life, and before long, we find ourselves disoriented, lonely, lost because people don’t have the eternal water that we require.
 
With His water,
I can release my children.
With His water,
I can lift my spouse.
With His water,
I don’t have to fear being an orphan.
With His water,
Friendships can last a lifetime.
 
With His water,
I can love the most.