Last week while I was praying, God gave me a vision. It seems so silly to even say that. It seems “religious”, which I’ve always steered clear of. I’ve always just tried to live my life for Jesus, as a good example, being real, and learning so much along the way.
But seriously, the more our church has studied Ephesians and the gifts of the spirit, the more my eyes have been opened to how God really operates among the body. I’ve been asking myself “What gifts has he given me to edify the church?”
So here I am, praying, and this “thought”, this “picture”, pops into my mind.
I’m praying in the spirit while reading Psalms 143:6, “I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as a parched land thirsts for rain.”
Now, I’m no farmer. I’ve never really noticed how parched land looks when it needs rain, but I do have potted house plants. (Twenty-nine, to be exact!) I suddenly remembered what my plants are like when I’ve gone one too many weeks between waterings. I’m actually not even talking about the sad droopy leaves. God reminded me of the soil. (You know, the soil in which seed is planted…)
You see, if you wait too long to water your potted plant, the soil is so dry that the water will pool up and spill out over the edges of the pot. It actually takes several seconds for the soil to absorb the water, and even then, the water will rush straight through the plant and out the drain hole on the bottom of the pot, leaving your plant, ineffectively watered. It’s still thirsty, and when your plant gets this way you often have to slow soak it to bring it back to life.
When I reflect on how this applies to the season I am in right now, When I sit down to read The Word of God, my life source, the foundation on which I stand, I feel myself going “Ok… I’ve got 30 minutes. I need a word, NOW.” And I’m almost rushing the process of being fed, and if I’m dry because it’s been a hot minute since I’ve been still and quiet with my friend, what I do get, seems to be rushing right through me and not sustaining me.
God showed me, “You need to be continually and habitually in my word, being fed, so that your soil remains moist and ready to receive.“
I have a reminder that goes off every Wednesday. It’s called “Watering Wednesday” and on Wednesdays, I go around my house and I check all my plants and make sure they are healthy and happy. I remove dead leaves. I wipe a cobweb off when I see it. Sometimes I pull a piece of toast out of the dirt that my dog buried in there, once there was a chicken nugget! I’ll turn a plant so that another side will catch the light. I reevaluate the placement of the plant if its getting too much of an element (sun, draft, water) I’m caring for, stewarding, and tending to a living thing.
Spend time with Jesus regularly and routinely.
Don’t put work first. Don’t put a list of tasks first. Don’t put food first. Don’t put your family first. Put HIM first. God speaks through his word, and then you can turn around and speak what he has shown you to others, to encourage them to journey with you closer and closer to our God of Love, living out the great commission and edifying those around you. He is so faithful and so good!
Written by Rachael Strickland.
