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A T H O U G H T F O R T H E W E E K |
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Dear Friends,
David Roper, a Minister and Christian Counselor for over 30 years from the USA, uses a very helpful illustration regarding our spiritual lives.
He writes, “A man who grew up on a ranch in West Texas tells about a rickety old windmill that stood alongside his family’s barn and pumped water to their place. It was the only source of water for miles. In a strong wind the windmill worked well, but in a light breeze it wouldn’t turn. It required manually turning the vane until the fan faced directly into the wind. Only when properly positioned did the windmill supply water to the ranch.”
He continues, “I like to tell people about the old windmill and our need to daily reposition ourselves – intentionally to turn towards the Lord and his Word and to drink deeply from him who is the source of living water.”
The longer I am in the ministry, I realize that the hardest part of coming to faith in Jesus is not really the initial decision to turn our lives towards him, but actually, once we are following him, to daily keep our focus on him and his word and Spirit and values. There are so many distractions in the world and in our own lives that cause us to turn our hearts away from the prevailing wind of the Holy Spirit and therefore to stop drinking from the living water of Jesus.
C.S. Lewis mentions pride as one of those things that turn us away. He writes, “As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.”
My encouragement to you this week is that you make a concerted effort (as you are already doing by coming to worship today) to lift your eyes from looking down and face the prevailing wind of the Holy Spirit so that you can be filled with the living water of Jesus and his word and so become a source of Christ’s life to those who are also in need of the living water.
(I hope that there are not too many metaphors in that previous paragraph J)
Lots of love,
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