ENCOURAGEMENT

Are you Dying on the Inside?

by Mitzi Singleton

I was one of those people who killed plants. Nothing survived under my care. I even killed a cactus once-the poor thing. Unlike me, my mother- in- law could make a dead, lifeless-looking, twig sprout leaves and grow. Plants would thrive vibrantly once she began nurturing them. Therefore, I just gave up trying to grow plants and stuck with the ones I could handle. You know the kind-- the artificial ones.

Then a friend of mine revealed a secret to nurturing plants. “The secret is the way you water them,” she said. “Plants are like people. They get thirsty daily. So you pour a little water at the base of the plant each day and through the entire day, if it’s hot. Then mist the leaves.” Well, I followed her advice and now there are plants that can survive under my care—when I take time to nurture them.

In Ephesians 5:26, the Apostle Paul calls the Word of God, water. What about you spiritually? Are you slowly dying on the inside because you are deprived of the water of life? Are you getting enough of the Word of God to revive and satisfy your thirsty soul? It’s easy to tell if you are.

Here’s how!

When trials come like the noonday sun on a hot, sizzling, summer's day in the middle of a heat wave, can you tolerate the heat? Or, do you droop because you are depressed or wilt because you are discouraged? If you are wilting and drooping, you are not getting enough encouragment from the Word of God ---the Water of Life. The hotter it gets, the more water you and I will need.

When temptations attack like bugs to eat you alive, do you have a difficult time resisting them? Are your worries, cares, and wrong desires choking the joy out of your life like pesky weeds? Then you are not getting enough strength from the Word of God –the Water of Life ---in your heart to fight and withstand the attacks.

Have you lost your thirst for the Water of Life?

Then, you may be dehydrated spiritually! Physically, there are times when a person can be so dehydrated until he or she no longer feels thirsty. That person may feel sick, weak, and can even get a headache.

If you have lost your thirst for God and His Word, you really, really need Him and His Word desperately. It is said that the physical body needs at least eight glasses of water a day. There are people who say, “I just don’t like water,” so they drink other things. Spiritually speaking, church activities and good deeds are not the Water of Life.

All Christians need to spend time with God and His Word so they can get nourishment to grow and strive under the harsh conditions this world offers. Without it, pretty soon their Christian walk will suffer. The Water of the Word is made for our souls. 1 Peter 2:2 advises that just like new born babes we should desire the sincere milk of the Word--the Water of Life -- so we can grow spiritually.

Water is Essential for Life!

One day after a rain storm, I noticed a large branch had broken off and fallen on the ground from one of the trees at the edge of a neighbor’s front yard. The broken branch was full of green, vibrant leaves. For weeks, each day when I drove past the branch, the leaves looked as fresh and alive as the first day I drove by. However, this did not last forever. Eventually the leaves began to droop, then wither, turn brown, and began to fertilize the ground.

Just like that branch, if we don’t get nourished as we should each day with the Water of Life, of course we will become spiritually weak and slowly begin to feel empty on the inside—dying of thirst because we are deprived of the Word and the presence of God. Are you well watered? If not why don’t you make time today to dip into the fountain of life and find satisfaction for your thirsty soul.

Scripture Reading from The Message Bible

Learn it by Heart

Listen well to my words; tune your ears to my voice.

Keep the message in plain view at all times,

Concentrate! Learn it by heart!

Those who discover these words live, really live;

body and soul; they're bursting with health.

Proverbs 4:20-23