We were walking the trails at Vermilion River Reservation Metro Park in Vermilion, Ohio. Our path led us past a good-sized pond surrounded by an abundance of flourishing trees, bushes, plants, and tall grasses.
A singular tree caught my eye.
The tree’s dry, peeling bark stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb. It seemed totally out of context. Everything around it was green as far as the eye could see, except for the lone dead, dried-out tree.
How does a tree rooted on the bank of a large freshwater pool, encircled by lush green trees, flourishing plant life, and deep grasses, dry up and die?
Had this one tree been specifically targeted? Was it singled out for an attack by disease or an insect invasion because of a weakness invisible to the naked eye?
Was the tree too lazy to take in the soil’s rich nutrients that its neighbors were enjoying in abundance and to their great benefit?
Did the dried tree stubbornly refuse to slake its thirst in the deep, cool waters that lay at its feet?
Were its roots so shallow that it couldn’t absorb the refreshing moisture its parched body so desperately required?
Did the dried tree intentionally turn its face away from the bright sunshine that blessed those around it with life-giving rays?
Did the mostly-dead tree think it could thrive and grow simply by subsisting on its self-generated resources?
Or, did the tree simply give up and quit trying?
I’ve known people like this. Folks who seemed to have spiritually dried out. Worn out. Worn down. Wrung out and lifeless.
There has been a period or two in my life when I definitely showed signs of drying out—a victim of spiritual dehydration and malnutrition. Has this ever happened to you?
In Revelation 3:1 (ESV), the Apostle John wrote this of the church in Sardis: “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.'” “You think you are alive. Anyone seeing you might think that indeed you are; however, God knows your heart. He knows that you are dead inside. (my paraphrase)”
Have you known professed-believers who seem to be living a dried-out existence? They exhibit no joy, hope, peace, or contentment. They always seem worried and spiritually exhausted. They carry a spirit of defeat wherever they go. There is no glimmer of the vitality expected in the life of a Christ-follower.
Or maybe this sounds like you?
I’m not asking if you occasionally feel overwhelmed, weary, or defeated. As long as we live in these bodies of flesh, there will be moments when those negative feelings and reactions arise. Still, as God’s Holy Spirit strengthens and develops our spiritual muscles, thankfully, those moments will occur with less frequency and weaken over time.
The real question is this: Does overwhelmed, weary, and defeated describe you most of the time? Are you living a dried-out existence? Are you ready to quit trying?
In his exhortation to the church in Sardis, the Apostle John includes a prescription for recovery for a dried-out existence:
“Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.” Revelation 3:2-3 ESV
- Wake up! Rouse yourself. Shake yourself awake. Recognize your spiritually dehydrated and nutrient-deprived state. Identify the sparks of life that remain and begin fanning the fire.
- Strengthen. You’re dying spiritually because you’ve cut yourself off from your Life Source. Are you in the Word? God’s Holy Word—the words of life that feed and provide the spiritual nourishment that your spirit demands for growth. God speaks to us through His Word.
- When others deserted Jesus, He turned to His disciples and asked if they, too, would leave Him. Peter’s response is perfect, and it should be the heart-cry of our spirits, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
- Remember. Remind yourself of the mercy and saving grace that God extended to you when you were without hope and undeserving. Remember the joy of fellowship and the confident peace you felt knowing you were a child of God. Remember.
- Keep it (Hold fast in obedience). Hold on to what you once cherished.
- Repent. Recommit yourself in humble repentance to your Heavenly Father. Choose to follow Him in humility and submission. Reject the unreliable, unsatisfying, life-leaching claims of the world. Turn back in complete surrender to your LORD and Savior.
- Claim the life-giving promises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14 ESV)
Believer, friend, we should never live dry, parched lives. Our Savior has given us access to a never-ending spring that is eternal life with Christ.
Galatians 2:20 ESV “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live I in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Remember, the old man—our old pre-salvation lives were put to death in Christ Jesus when we submitted to Him as our LORD and Savior. The old, dried-out, dying man is dead. We are new creatures in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). He is our life. He is life abundant (Romans 5:17).
A life lived in obedience to Jesus will continue to bring refreshment and revitalization to our thirsting, hungry souls. And in blessing upon blessing, God’s Holy Spirit will continuously pour into us so that we can share with others His life-giving words of mercy, grace, love, truth, and encouragement.
“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” John 7:38 ESV