Week Two: Day Three
The Story
Matt and Anna each grew up knowing their senior pastors. This is most unusual, even for their day, because both attended relatively large churches. What I mean by knowing their pastors is that both of their pastors knew their first names.
Pastor Mark lead a church called The Well. He had a gifted speaking voice that went along with an incredible ability to tell interesting stories. While The Well began as a small congregation it grew rapidly.
Pastor Richard began with a small congregation in the 1980’s and it has grown steadily ever since. While he is a gifted Biblical scholar and speaks truth consistently, some have said he can be a bit dull.
Matt watched as Pastor Richard lead his dad to the Lord and then two years later his mother. Even as a young boy, Matt could recognize Pastor Richard’s guiding hand in his parents’ spiritual lives. To this day, though his parents are not regular church attenders, they still consider Pastor Richard and Hope Community Church their church home.
Anna’s story is quite different. Her parents did not attend The Well. She went each week with her friend. Anna was in high school when it happened. Pastor Mark, who was now leading four regular church services per weekend with an additional Sunday night college service stood up in front of the congregation and told them he was tired. He told the congregation that he was resigning from his post and that he wanted everyone to pray for him. He asked them to support his assistant pastor, Greg, who would assume new responsibilities as their new church head.
Pastor Mark told his congregation how he had not done the personal work necessary to keep his own spiritual life intact. No, he was not admitting to some sort of mistress scandal. He was just plain tired. He wanted everyone to know that their own spiritual conditioning is their responsibility. He had not done the work to keep his afloat. While he had failed, he wanted them to learn from his failure. Anna was wrecked.
The Devotion
Psalm 1: 1-3
“Blessed is the one […] whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”
Imagine two trees. This is the story of where each tree grew up. Imagine as one seed flies through the air and lands thirty yards away from flowing streams of water. Another seed flies through that same air, but today the wind blows a different direction, landing the seed about two yards from the river. Both trees’ roots begin to reach out. The trees sprout upward and commence their years of life. The first tree only receives water when it rains. It could be days or weeks before it gets its next drink. The other tree receives water constantly. Because it has sprouted by the river, its water source is always available. Which tree do you think flourishes most? The second tree is sure to be green as often as the turning seasons allow.
Psalm 1 begins by comparing those who delight in the law of the Lord (the Bible) as like that blessed tree by streams of flowing water. While the two seeds in our story may have fallen where they did by happenstance, the moral of the story is that we plant ourselves wherever we are going to take root. We can choose consistent streams of nourishment or be left to whenever the rain happens to fall.
In ministry, I have heard these sentences more times than I can count, “I think I need to take a break for a few months to get myself right with God before I can minister to others. I have nothing left to give.” While I do think it’s admirable that my leaders recognize their spiritual deficit, their solution is not in time away. In two months, with no significant life change, they will be as spiritually empty as they are today. The reason: We are the developers and keepers of our own spiritual condition.
Think about this: If your pastor helps to fill you up, who fills him up? Most certainly the best answer is that “God fills him up.” Yet your pastor has most likely disciplined him or herself by investing time in God’s Word routinely that keeps him/her spiritually tuned up. Your pastor has taken on his/her own responsibility for being “filled up”.
The further you get down the road of ministry, the more you realize that you are responsible for your own spiritual conditioning. Initially, you can get away with just hearing one sermon on Sundays. As you mature this is simply not enough. You must plant yourself by your own stream of constant flowing water. This is non-negotiable.
You are never too late to uproot and find a more constant stream of water. Rushing water never freezes. We are not trees, we are people. The answer is in our desire to know God better; to learn how to live by his Word. We can do this. You are never too late to start reading your Bible daily. If you already do so, why not ask the Lord what is next? I imagine he will have a response for you.
How are you planted by streams of water in your life? We are blessed to have resources today to help us stay consistent. Share this with someone you love and who needs to be reminded where our help comes from.
The Bible
Psalm 1 | Romans 12 | Proverbs 31
The Prayer
“Dear Lord Jesus, may the fruit of my life be like the tree that was planted by streams of rushing water. May the water of life never run dry in my journey with you. I recognize that my spiritual condition is my own responsibility. I commit today to giving you my best. Please bring people into my life who will encourage me to live for You. But please remind me to never hold them responsible for my spiritual growth. I am personally responsible for this and trust Your leading. In Jesus’ name, amen”
