Fill up before Pouring out?
It’s easy for church staff to say our personal relationship with God is the priority. It’s infinitely more difficult to live out.
Although the consequences of a lack of intimacy with the Lord are ultimately devastating, the pressure to perform and produce at a high level often leads to the trap of giving without first receiving. The result is a kind of spiritual bankruptcy.
Wasn’t it the Lord who, calling the disciples to a life of ministry, said, “Freely you have received; freely give”? It was imperative that receiving from the Lord preceded giving to others.
Often we feel guilty for prioritizing our relationship with the Lord when there’s so much to do, so many services to prepare for, so many people to serve.
Here’s a good litmus test: How often is your time with the Lord interrupted because you thought of something good to share with someone else? Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with getting a great idea during your personal time with the Lord. The question is: Is the Lord the focus of your time with the Lord, or are others the focus?
Even though many of us are not good at getting filled up, it is a discipline we can practice. We can get better at this! Here are some suggestions: take a day off this week to focus on the Lord. Read Psalm 63 and take no notes. Go for a hike, and just thank God for what you see. Meet with a friend for a no-strings-attached conversation, and ask him or her to pray for you.
In this prayer and blessing from the Apostle Paul, notice that receiving precedes giving: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).
We join with Paul believing you will abound in hope to others by the power of the Holy Spirit. But before you do, God wants to fill you with all joy and peace in believing. God wants to use you greatly in His kingdom—but not because He needs you to build, preach, or teach! Your heavenly Father has asked you to join in what He’s already doing because He really wants a relationship with you.
Our prayer is that you would be aware of how much God really wants you more than the work you do. We’re praying that this understanding would propel you toward a new relational depth with the Father. And we’re believing that you will serve with an overflow of joy through that new level of intimacy!
Reflect:
What interrupts your intentional time with God?
What can you rearrange in your daily schedule to set aside time to be intimate with your Heavenly Father?
What can you do — daily, weekly, or monthly — to encourage and foster a deeper relationship with God?
—Trevor Cox