Today we continue to do a little sprint maintenance on our trails - 'cause we're just into that more than we are spring cleaning, right? Well, even if you enjoy spring cleaning, the fresh air does you good! So I have a couple more questions for you today as you access the condition of your spiritual trail and do whatever work is necessary to get it in tip top shape for steady progress.
Don't just maintain your trail the way I do my windows though. I tend to look at them, say "yep, they're dirty and the blinds are dusty," and then go on to something else, something more fun. My windows, needless to say, do not get clean that way. And our trails won't change a bit either if we don't do the necessary digging and cutting away and chopping down and raking. So let's put a little spiritual muscle into it and get the job done.
Got Water?
- Do I know where to find water on this trail? (You've got to have access to water, dear one, when you're on the trail!) Am I drinking the living water or am I substituting that which produces life with that which quenches only temporarily? Am I drinking from the fountain of living water? Am I drinking daily? Am I drinking enough? How can I know? It'll start bubbling up inside and spilling out, for pete's sake!
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
so my soul pants for Thee, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Psalm 42:1-2a
Jesus answered her and said to her,
"Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again;
but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst;
but the water that I shall give him
shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."
John 4:13-14
- Am I surrounded by miry clay, caught in a pit of destruction? Or am I walking on solid, dry ground with sure footing? (Dear friend, sometimes we spend so much time in the mud we begin to think that's normal. It's not!) Have I exchanged my portion of milk and honey for mud pies? Are my clothes caked in mud instead of white as snow? Have I gotten so deep into this slimy pit that I can't get out on my own? Do I need some supernatural help?
I waited patiently for the Lord;
and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction,
out of the miry clay;
and He set my feet upon a rock
making my footsteps firm.
(Psalm 40:1-2)
- Have I fallen into a pit that is not of my own making? One that someone else has dug and thrown me into? Have I been made a fool of? And has my shame and guilt and fear and sadness caused that pit to seem insurmountable? Do I need a savior, a knight in shining armor, to come along and rescue me from that pit? Do I need Him to set me on dry ground, brush me off, kiss me gently and set me on broad ground again so that I can move on? (Dear friend, He can so do that!)
Save me, O God,
for the waters have threatened my life.
I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me.
I am weary with crying;
my throat is parched;
My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would destroy me are powerful,
being wrongfully my enemies,
what I did not steal, I then have to restore.
Psalm 69:1-4
Deliver me from the mire,
and do not let me sink;
may I be delivered from my foes,
and from the deep waters.
May the flood of water not overflow me,
and may the deep not swallow me up,
and may the pit not shut its mouth on me.
Psalm 69:14-15
Got some work to do here? I do. I need to drink a little more deeply from the soul satisfying living water. And I need to steer clear of familiar pits. In fact, I may need to build a bridge over them so I don't slip in again.
Labels: Spring Trail Maintenance
