Have you ever been on a long car journey, when you realise that the fuel gauge is running low and you don’t know where the next Service (Gas) Station is?

This happened to The Hunk and I many years ago, on a long trip between Christchurch and Nelson in New Zealand.

A situation like that can do one of two things. It can cause your marriage relationship to suddenly deteriorate – or it can cause your prayer life to suddenly improve. The first option is especially tempting when you realise that if ‘someone’ had paid attention and filled up before you began the trip, you would not be in this predicament!

What a relief it was, when we finally pulled up to a Service Station a little way out of Blenheim.

It’s Time to Check the Tank

The New Year is an opportunity to do a personal resource check and to ask:

• Do I have enough of the right fuel in my tanks—physically, emotionally and spiritually—to go the distance for all God has for me in the coming year?

• If I am depleted in any area, what will it take for me to be replenished?

• What is the first step?

The first and most important check we need to do is, ‘Am I vitally connected to God?’

God wants to be the very Source of our life.

At a crucial time in Jerusalem’s history, God spoke to His people through the Prophet Jeremiah, saying:

“My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” (Jer 2:13)

To put it simply, God was saying, “My people have made the wrong resource choice.”

The Gihon Spring was the only permanent source of water to the city of Jerusalem—the people’s very means of life. So the picture of turning away from the living spring and looking for other sources of water was a relevant one to them.

When God gets Shifted Off-Centre

Reading in Jeremiah and elsewhere, you discover what God meant by Judah’s ‘broken cisterns.’

He was referring to two main things –

• Judah still had God’s temple, and they still made a show of worshipping Him, but they worshipped idols as well.
• Instead of looking to God when they needed deliverance, they looked to other nations for help – nations that worshipped other ‘gods’ and gave glory to those ‘gods.’

What had happened? The people of Jerusalem still had God in their lives, but God was no longer their chief source. He was kind of like an add-on.

Sometimes we can be like that, even without realising it. We still have God in our lives, we may even be serving Him, but we have shifted Him off-centre. And when God is not at the centre, we are spiritually dry, empty and don’t work properly.

And yet, our Father is so full of grace and mercy. Today, if you feel spiritually dry, and if you recognise that somehow you have shifted God away from the centre of your attention and your life, He comes to you saying,

“I am the source of life – and if you make me the Source of your life, I will be as a spring of living water to you.”

All The Resources of Heaven

The concept of God being like a spring of living water to us is a powerful one.

Here is an amazing fact: At any one time, most of the world’s fresh water is not on the surface of the ground, in places we can see like rivers and lakes.

Instead, most of our fresh water lies deep underneath the ground. We call this hidden water, ‘groundwater.’ And groundwater travels beneath the earth through special gravels and soils. When one of these ‘aquifiers’ meets the surface, a spring bubbles up.

So when God says, “I am the spring of living water,” He is using a powerful illustration to say, “In Me all the unseen resources of heaven are there to back you up.”

As you enter this New Year, God offers all of Himself to you, to be your Source, your Provider.

He offers you all of His fullness, all of His grace.

He gives you access as His son and daughter into His very Presence.

He makes available to you through prayer, all of the resources of heaven

His Holy Spirit resides within you, an immeasurable, Heavenly source of life, waiting to be tapped into and released.

Today is an opportunity to refocus your life. To turn away from every distraction, every dependency that is not of God.

And put Jesus at the very centre of your life once again.

Related Posts:

This Can Be A Year Of Visitation From God

7 Signs Of Spiritual Dryness

7 Ways To Combat Spiritual Dryness

If you enjoyed this article, you can listen to the full audio message ‘Source of Life’ by Helen Calder from the Enliven Blog podcast page.

Do you have any responses to this post or thoughts about God being your source of life that you would like to share? Leave a comment in the comments box. If the comments section is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

© Helen Calder Enliven Blog – Prophetic Teaching

On team with David McCracken Ministries: Prophetic Ministry That Empowers The Church

Did you receive this from a friend? Read more from Enliven Blog or sign to receive our weekly prophetic teaching updates at http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog

I have fond memories of a ministry trip that we did as a family in the South Island of New Zealand in 1998.

We were travelling with our two children, then aged 8 and 5 years old. Our theme for that particular trip was ‘River to the Nations’ and for fun, whenever we passed by or crossed over a river during the long hours of travelling, we would all shout “River!” together.

To this day, when The Hunk and I are driving through the countryside on our way to minister in a church, we have an urge to call out ‘River!’ when we pass by a river (and sometimes do!)

Amazing Bible Facts about the River of Life

1. A river flowed out of the Garden of Eden, the place where God communed with Adam and Eve.

This river separated into four headwaters, sending out life-giving waters through the land. (Gen 2:10-14) In this way, our Father prepared a means of sustenance and life to nations and peoples before they were even in existence.

2. The Bible begins with an earthly Eden and an earthly river, and ends with a Heavenly Eden and a Heavenly river.

In the last chapter of the Bible, we read of the river of life flowing from the throne of God: ‘On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.’ (Rev 22:2)

It is the final page of Scripture, and we again see God’s heart for nations and peoples.

3. Healing is associated with the River of Life.

Ezekiel also had a vision of a River with life-giving properties flowing out from the temple, after God’s glorious Presence had returned there. Trees surrounding the river bore fruit for food and leaves for healing. (Ezek 47; 43:2-5, Rev 22:2)

4. The River of Life brings a harvest.

Where once there were no fish, fish abound, and fishermen spread their nets for an abundant catch. (Ezek 47:9-10) The harvest on God’s heart is souls—people from every tribe and tongue. (Matt 4:19, Rev 7:9)

5. The River of Life is a source of joy.

The Psalmists say:

• ‘There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.’ (Psalm 46:4)
• ‘[People] feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.’ (Ps 36:8)

6. The River of Life flows from God’s Presence

Consistently, we see that the River of Life flows from the very seat of God’s Presence: the place He inhabits and reigns. (see above scriptures and also Joel 3:18)

The River of Life is Personal

‘Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.” (John 7:38-39a)

Jesus said that when we drink from Him, receiving His life, and are filled with His Holy Spirit, rivers of living water flow out from within our lives.

The River not only flows from His Presence—it is His Presence—His Holy Spirit. And from the River of His Spirit flows salvation, healing, transformation and the joy that comes from knowing and partaking of God Himself.

A look at the Gospels and the book of Acts demonstrates this, as Jesus and His followers go about announcing the Good News, and healing and miracles flow.

(The invitation of God to someone reading this right now is—step into this River by faith).

Do You Feel Dry?

A river has movement, inflow and outflow. The River of God has a source—the intimate Presence of God—and an influence, bringing salvation, life and healing to people.

But if we stop partaking, and we stop receiving, we may begin to feel spiritually dry. We stop ‘spilling over.’

People around us are not being drawn by God’s Presence in our lives. We stop speaking out about God’s goodness because we ourselves are living in pain, discouragement or doubt. When this happens, we need to reconnect with God again.

The River of Life and the Dead Sea.

There may be times when we continue receiving from God, but for some reason stop giving out, and releasing His life to others.

The Dead Sea is a lake in Israel that has no inflow—and no outflow. It is rich in mineral wealth but cannot sustain life.

I don’t want to be a ‘Dead Sea’ Christian—someone who attends church on Sundays, receives lots of rich teaching, enjoys the Presence of His Spirit, but does not impact the lives of others.

The River of Life—Receive and Release

In Ezekiel 47, the Prophet sees that the River of Life hits the Dead Sea. And when the River collides with the Dead Sea, the salt water becomes fresh. As it does, the Dead Sea becomes a host to life once more.

If you are feeling dry today, or long to see fruitfulness in your life again, the River of God’s Spirit can flow once more through your life.

The invitation of Jesus to ‘come and drink’ is not a one-off invitation, but His life and Presence is continually available to you.

The Apostle Paul said, ‘Do not get drunk on wine… Instead, be filled with the Spirit.’ (Eph 5:18) The Greek words translated, ‘be filled,’ are in the continuous present tense.

And Ezekiel’s vision of the River of Life that went deeper, measure by measure tells you that no matter what you have experienced of God’s life and Spirit, there is always more. (Ezek 47:3-6)

When you reconnect with God, start to share about what He is doing in your life. Look for God-appointed opportunities to encourage or pray for people. Because in doing so, the River of Life will flow out to others.

And the ripple effect of what God is doing in your life may impact nations.

Related Posts:

7 Signs of Spiritual Dryness

Escaping a Half-Lived Christian Life

7 Ways to Combat Spiritual Dryness

What Pentecost tells us about God’s Heart for Nations

What attributes of the River of Life inspire you? Leave a comment in the comments box. If it is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

© Helen Calder Enliven Blog – Prophetic Teaching

On team with David McCracken Ministries: Prophetic Ministry That Empowers The Church

Did you receive this from a friend? Read more from Enliven Blog or sign to receive our weekly prophetic teaching updates at http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

The Christian life is meant to be one of reliance upon God, where the life of His Spirit continually flows in and through us.

However we do not always remain intimately connected to Him. As a result we experience times of spiritual dryness. [1]

7 Ways to Combat Spiritual Dryness

If you recognise signs of spiritual dryness in your life, following are some ideas to help you recover:

1. Break the Blame Cycle

When we are working hard, serving or ministering in some capacity, it is easy to lay blame for our dryness outside of us.

We may place responsibility for our depletion upon our busyness, our circumstances, or on other people.

However, as long as we are waiting for our situation or other people to change, we are disempowering ourselves.

Know that you can do something about spiritual dryness—it is time to take ownership of your spiritual condition and your relationship with God.

2. Recognise Your Deepest Need

‘I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit…’ Isaiah 44:3

According to scripture, the answer to spiritual dryness is intimacy with God and a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit. Our need is for God Himself.

However, when spiritual dryness is related to Christian service or busy-ness, we often focus on external points of need:

• ‘I need a break’
• ‘I need help’
• ‘I need a change of responsibilities’

These needs may be genuine—and we should make definite plans to meet them. However, we should never ignore the real, underlying need:

‘I need to reconnect with God and be re-filled with His Spirit.’

3. Stop Deferring

A common response to spiritual dryness is to look beyond our present circumstances to some future time when we will have the space and opportunity to be refreshed.

This is the ‘I am waiting for…’ mindset:

• I am waiting for this busy season to be over—and then I will have time to spend with God
• I am waiting for assistance from another person

Let’s face it—circumstances may not change immediately. By continuing to put our spiritual needs on hold, we face the danger of moving from dryness to burnout.

Take action now. If you do not have a day, take an hour. If you do not have an hour, find a moment with God.

Sometimes, a moment is all it takes.

4. Reconnect with God

Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” (John 7:37)

We need to do whatever it takes to get into a place where we encounter God. David spoke of this search in the Psalms:

‘As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?’ (Psalm 42:1-2)

For inspiration, recall previous times you have felt close to God or encountered Him in a significant way.

Acknowledge and repent of any areas of sin that the Holy Spirit brings to mind.

Recognise that you have a unique way of connecting with God. It may be through worship, or solitude, reflecting on Scripture, spending time with on-fire Christians, or taking time in the Great Outdoors. [2]

5. Ask God to Re-fill you

The best prayers are the simplest ones, such as

‘Father, fill me afresh with Your Spirit.’

In the book of Acts, when faced with persecution, the church knew that their greatest need was not for circumstances to change. It was for a fresh empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

In answer to their prayer, the Holy Spirit fell upon them and they were given boldness to speak, and power to serve God. (Acts 4:23-34)

6. Review and Re-Focus

Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. No more, and no less. (John 5:19)

There were needs that He did not meet, because it was not in the Father’s timing or purpose for Him to do so.

Some traps we can fall into include believing that:

• Our role or ministry is indispensible
• No one else can do a job as well as we can
• Our work must always be done perfectly or at our own high standard (perfectionism)

Excellence honours God—but should never become more important than God.

If you can relate to this, I encourage you to review the story of Mary and Martha. [3]

7. Receive the Support of Others

In an extreme case of dryness, we need the help and support of others.

This may include:

• Being honest
• Asking for prayer
• Receiving assistance

In God’s Kingdom, this is not a sign of weakness, but of strength.

Your courage to align your life with God’s priorities will inspire others to do the same.

Do you have any more ideas for recovering from spiritual dryness that could help others? Do you have questions or experiences that you would like to share? Leave a comment in the box below. If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

Notes:

See my earlier article, 7 Signs of Spiritual Dryness

[1] In this article I am specifically discussing spiritual depletion. However emotional, mental and physical fatigue can also occur, requiring additional needs to be met.

[2] For more thoughts on this, see

How To Discover Your Spiritual Pathway

Does Your Devotional Life Need Resuscitating?

How Using Your Learning Style Can Revitalise Your Bible Study

[3] I wrote an article about Mary and Martha here: The Most Important Decision You Can Make: 4 traps To Avoid in your Service for God

© Helen Calder Enliven Blog – Prophetic Teaching

On team with David McCracken Ministries: Prophetic Ministry That Empowers The Church

Did you receive this from a friend? Read more from Enliven Blog or sign to receive our weekly prophetic teaching updates at http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog

‘Be [continuously] filled with the Spirit.’ (Eph 5:18)

As Christians, our life, our witness and our service to others should be empowered by the life of the Holy Spirit within us.

This is what Jesus referred to when He said, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:38)

However we do not always maintain that vital connection to God perfectly. And therefore all of us experience seasons where we feel spiritually dry.

The great evangelist D L Moody understood this. When asked why he placed so much emphasis upon being filled with the Holy Spirit, he wisely said, ‘Because I leak.’

Spiritual Dryness

Spiritual dryness, or depletion, is not a problem in itself.

In fact, the awareness of our spiritual dryness is a gift from God. It is His invitation to come and partake of His life and His Spirit.

However, spiritual dryness does become a problem if we:

• do not recognise that we are becoming depleted, or
• do not recognise that God is the answer to our need, or
• become too exhausted to connect with God

Therefore it is important for us to recognise the signs of depletion as early as possible.

Signs of Spiritual Dryness

‘You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.’ Psalm 63:1

Here are some signs that we are becoming spiritually depleted. If you can relate to these, you need to reconnect with God and receive a fresh infilling of His Spirit:

1. Giving While Empty or Weary

A sign of spiritual dryness is that we are no longer giving to others out of a sense of fullness. We feel empty or weary—our inner tank is running dry.

Spiritual dryness if left undetected can turn into burnout, if we continue to give out in Christian service whilst not being replenished.

If left untended, spiritual dryness can impact our emotional, mental, and even physical state.

2. Serving out of Duty

When we are spiritually dry there is a subtle shift in our motivation to serve God, whether in the church or elsewhere.

We are no longer motivated by passion. We feel an inner reluctance, or resistance to serve, but continue to do so because we feel we have no choice.

Our motivation to continue serving may be that others are relying on us, or we want to honour a commitment, or even feel a duty towards God or towards His calling upon our lives.

3. Our Faith is no Longer Contagious

According to David in the Psalms, it is the joy of our salvation that results in us leading people to God.  (Ps 51:12-13)

When we are spiritually dry, it affects our relationship with those who do not know Jesus. We are not bubbling over; we have lost our joy.

People are not seeing something in us that causes them to thirst for God, and we lack motivation to share with them, feeling we have nothing to offer.

4. God Feels Distant

When we are spiritually dry, there can be a gradual distancing from God. Either we are not encountering Him regularly, or we are not hearing from Him, or we are hearing Him speak to us intermittently.

God is, in fact, continually speaking to us. However sometimes we neglect to tune in. (Ps 139:17-18)

5. Our Spiritual Life is in a Rut

We lack the excitement we once had in our relationship with God. Our devotional life—connection to God through the Bible and prayer—has either been reduced to a rote exercise, is occasional, or has ceased to exist at all.

We love God, but have lost a sense of being ‘in love’ with Him. Our relationship with God has lost its freshness.

6. A Contributing Event

The state of spiritual dryness does not always creep up on us slowly. Trials or sudden trauma can result in us being depleted spiritually, as well as in other ways.

7. Negative Thinking

 ‘The Kingdom of God is… righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.’ (Rom 14:17)

When we are spiritually dry the atmosphere of heaven—righteousness, peace and joy—seems to evade us. Instead, we find it easier to give way to negative thinking. We falter in our ability to resist and ‘cast down’ destructive thoughts and emotions.

There is an Answer to Spiritual Dryness

The good news is that when we are spiritually dry, God has already initiated and provided the answer to our need.

In the next post, I will discuss some ways in which we can be replenished spiritually. In the meantime, here are some questions to consider:

Questions for Reflection:

• Do I have any of the above signs in my life at the moment—and to what degree? How long have I felt this way?

• What is the difference between emotional, mental, physical and spiritual depletion? How are they inter-related?

• What is God’s response to my spiritual depletion?

• What can I do this week to personally reconnect with God?

Can you think of some other signs of spiritual dryness? Have you ever experienced dryness or burnout and recovered? I would love to hear from you. Leave a note in the comments box below. If the comments box is not visible, click on this link and scroll down.

Related Posts:

7 Ways To Combat Spiritual Dryness

Escaping A Half-Lived Christian Life

The River Returns: How To Be Refilled With The Holy Spirit When You Are Dry

Prophetic People In Testing Times: The Reason For The Season

Hunger For God: 6 Ways You Can Stir It Up

© Helen Calder Enliven Blog – Prophetic Teaching

On team with David McCracken Ministries: Prophetic Ministry That Empowers The Church

Did you receive this from a friend? Read more from Enliven Blog or sign to receive our weekly prophetic teaching updates at http://enlivenpublishing.com/blog

The Power of Hunger For God

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jer 29:13

In Song of Solomon, the Beloved is knocking on the chamber door. The maiden resists getting up to answer. ‘I have taken off my robe—must I put it on again? I have washed my feet—must I soil them again?’ (SOS 5:3)

She is in a state of repose, and for that moment, her comfort is more important than her relationship.

The maiden rises to open the door to her Beloved, but he has already left. Her hesitancy has cost her his presence. Now, her heart is stirred. Comfort is no longer an issue as she loses sleep and risks her safety to search for the one she loves.

Unable to reach him, she passes on a message, ‘Tell him I am faint with love.’ (SOS 5:8)

‘Here I am! I stand at the door and knock,’ Jesus calls to His church. ‘If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.’ (Rev 3:20)

Jesus’ call to intimacy is a challenge to our comfort. To answer His knock, we must stir ourselves from our place of spiritual repose.

His promise: ‘I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.’

Jesus’ invitation is to Christians who are hungry.

Why Be Hungry For God?

Hunger: that gnawing ache on the inside of you; that sense of need that is not content until it is filled.  Hunger is an active state, for it results in you seeking out the object of desire that will satisfy your need.

Hunger for God is the longing to encounter Him, to be with Him, and to be filled with His Spirit.
As prophetic people, we need to hunger and thirst after God.
When we are hungry for God and His Presence, we will do whatever it takes to get close to Him. The place of intimacy is where we will catch, not only the revelation He wants to give us, but we will also catch His heart.

Many of us want to be filled with the Spirit, we long to be close to God and see miracles happen in people’s lives.

When we hunger and thirst for God, we will seek Him, and when we seek Him, we will be filled and empowered.

It all starts with hunger.

6 Ways You Can Stir Up Hunger For God

1. MISS IT

A person who is fasting eventually loses their appetite as their body adjusts to the absence of food. Although in Christian leadership, I was spiritually famished for so long, I lost the ability to hunger after God.

My turning point came when I realised what I was missing.

I noted in my journal,

‘I have come to realise that the real tragedy in the church is not spiritual famine: it is famine without hunger, dryness without thirst.’

2. PRAY FOR IT

Even the desire to seek God is a gift from Him (John 6:44).

When we pray for spiritual hunger, we are praying in accordance with God’s will. He wants us to be hungry for Him. (Matt 5:6). It is a prayer God loves to answer.

3. RECALL IT

Jesus told the Ephesian church, ‘You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen’ (Rev 2:4-5)

You can stir up a desire for God by remembering a time when you were pursuing God and experiencing intimacy in your life with Him.

Do you have books that you read at that time, worship you listened to, or letters or journals that you wrote in? These can be aids to help you recall what it felt like during that season.

4. CATCH IT

Spiritual hunger is contagious. Get around hungry people, or people who are further on in the journey than you. Study their books, listen to their messages, read their blogs.

A friend wrote a blog post about having an ache in his heart for God. When I read it, it stirred the same sense of hunger in me.

5. HEAR IT

A new sound of worship can help impart hunger to you. When was the last time you heard fresh worship music that stirred your soul to worship and spend time with God?

These days, it is easy to purchase worship music through iTunes for a very small cost. A couple of songs from Rick Pino, ‘Your Love is Like’ and ‘My Romance’ have stirred the hunger in me recently.

6. ACT ON IT

‘Taste and see that the Lord is good.’ Ps 34:8
With the little sense of need that you have, pursue God. Like me, you will learn that the more you encounter His presence, the more you will want more.

And most amazing of all, you will discover that no matter how much you long for God, His desire for you is greater.

The maiden who sought her Beloved in Song of Solomon discovered this wonder:

I am my beloved’s, And his desire is toward me. (SOS 7:10)

Related posts:

Spiritual Renewal: How to Receive an impartation of the Holy Spirit

A Prophetic Vision: God’s Call To Intimacy With Him

7 Signs Of Spiritual Dryness

7 Ways To Combat Spiritual Dryness

© Helen Calder   Enliven Blog

I read a statistic recently that 35% of church-going people in Australia rarely or never read the Bible. Only one in 5 read it every day.

What does that say about how we Christians view the Word of God?

We need a Bible revival!

How My Devotional Life Dried Up

One year ago, I was suffering from burnout.

My devotional life was one area that had suffered. Sure, I still picked up my Bible every day… but the joy had gone out of my devotions.

The act of doing devotions had become a duty. The Bible’s content had become yet another barometer of Christian performance—instructions on how I should live my Christian life. And I had nothing left to give.

To be honest, I was not only burnt out, I was bored.

I have been acquainted with the Bible since childhood, have read it many times over and still today read it from cover to cover. I have studied it both personally and with the help of great Christian teachers.

But I had lost my passion for God’s Word.

During the course of this year, I have experienced renewal in my devotional life.

How To Fall In Love With The Bible Again

Here are some keys that have helped me recover my love for God’s Word:

1. Realise Something Is Missing

Jesus said ‘ask, seek, knock,’ (Matt 7:7-8) but we will never do any of those things until we become conscious that we have a need.

Until we realise that what we are experiencing in relation to the Bible is less than what it could be, we will never change.

It was only when I realised how dry I was and how dead my devotional life had become that I decided to do something about it. I began to ‘Ask, seek and knock.’

2. Reconsider the Value of the Bible

Recently I read a news item about a real-life ‘slum-dog millionaire’. This man was living in a slum whilst he had access to millions of dollars.

Like this guy, I had been living like a spiritual pauper whilst sitting on a fortune—God’s Word.

As I began my seeking time, I went through Psalm 119, in which David expounds the wonders of God’s Word. One of the verses that stood out to me was, ‘Your word has given me life’ (Ps 119:50).

Being revived by God’s word is a recurring theme in this Psalm, with the Hebrew word, ‘chayah,’ meaning to revive, nourish, restore to life, and give life to, being used 16 times in relation to God’s Word.

When it comes to the Bible, life is a verb! The promise of being revived—or ‘lifed’—through God’s Word kept me on track. There was obviously something in my devotional life I had missed.

3. Relate to the Bible the Way Jesus Does

The next breakthrough in my journey came when I had an idea to take a look at how Jesus responded to the Bible in the Gospels. Perhaps by studying His response to the Bible, I could see what I was missing.

Jesus knew the scriptures intimately and used His knowledge of them to teach others. But more than this—He lived them.

Jesus walked in perfect fulfillment of God’s Word. The Old Testament described every details of His life from birth to death, His character, His purpose and mission and His redeeming work on the cross.

As I considered Jesus’ response to the scriptures, it occurred to me that just as Jesus walked in fulfillment of God’s Word, so should I.

The Bible explains my origins, my value, my redemption, my call, and my destiny. The Bible is the story of me. And it’s your story, too.

I have known the scripture as a place of instruction, upbuilding, protection and power to live the Christian life. I have understood the Bible as the story of Jesus, the story of redemption, the story of Israel and the church.

But this simple revelation—that the Bible is the story of me—is the one that helped bring me back to life.

4. Reconnect Creatively With God’s Word

When my children were small and had been sick, they sometimes lost their appetite for food.

I would give them smaller portions of tasty food that would tempt them to eat, and help strengthen their appetites.

It is important, when we have lost our appetite for God’s Word, to provide ourselves with fresh inspiration, and new tools or methods to help us study.

Here is one tool that can be used for Bible study and journaling:

The SOAP journaling method

SOAP is an acronym:

• Scripture
• Observation
• Application
• Prayer

To use this journaling style, read your portion of scripture—it may be a daily reading or a passage or book in the Bible you are currently studying

S = Choose a verse that has particularly spoken to you and write it in your journal

O = Note down your observation—what God is saying to you personally through the verse

A = Record how you can put what God is saying into practice in your life

P = Now write a brief prayer in response to what God has spoken to you

Over the next few days I will be using the SOAP method in my own journal and write my observations in the comments section of this post.

Related posts:

How Using Your Learning Style Can Revitalise Your Bible Study

Does Your Devotional Life Need Resuscitating?

8 Signs Your Devotional Life is Caught in a Performance Trap

Activate Your Prophetic Gift Through Prayer Journaling

© Helen Calder   Enliven Publishing

A Window of Opportunity

The close of a year can be a time in which we review our responsibilities for the coming year. We have a window of opportunity in which to decide which roles to keep or take on in our church, ministry, or other activities outside of our personal and family life.

These are decisions that have eternal consequences.

What We Can Learn From Martha

Martha was a good woman who, along with her sister Mary, became a disciple of Jesus. Jesus valued their hospitality and their home became a place of refreshing that He made use of as He travelled in and out of Jerusalem (Luke 10:38, John 12:1-2).

One time, Martha invited Jesus into her home for dinner. But she became overloaded with her work preparing for the meal. To make matters worse, her sister Mary absconded from her kitchen duties and sat down to listen to Jesus’ teaching, leaving her to labour alone. Finally, the stress became too much for Martha to bear. She marched into the room where Jesus was speaking and ordered Him to tell Mary to help her.

Far from the response Martha was looking for, Jesus took the opportunity to point out that she, not Mary, was in the wrong. Her attitude of care and worry over all the details of serving was unnecessary, and Mary had made the better, lasting choice.

Many of us can identify with Martha. I can! Martha had lost the joy of serving Jesus and was hindered from spending quality time with Him.

What were some of the reasons Martha got into this stressful place, and we do today? Here are some potential traps we need to avoid as we make decisions regarding our life and ministry in 2010.

Trap #1: Maintaining High Standards

Perhaps Martha was preparing a 4 star meal, when Jesus and His friends would have been happy with much simpler fare. But Martha had a certain standard of hospitality in mind that she wanted to keep up. Maybe she had a reputation for quality hospitality that she wanted to live up to. That standard became a trap.

Prayerfully ask, ‘Are there any areas in my life or ministry that I am intent on maintaining a high standard could cause me stress? What is my motivation for this?

Ask, ‘What is the opportunity cost of meeting this high standard?’ What will I neglect by insisting that I meet my desired criteria? If the answer is, time to enjoy God, enjoy life, or enjoy your family, you may need to reduce your expectations or release the role.

Trap #2: Filling Gaps

Like Martha did, we can be tempted to fill any gaps left by other people. This is especially true when we have leadership responsibility. We want to provide a certain level of service and feel the ministry will fall over if we don’t step in.

Sometimes, others may place well-intentioned emotional pressure on us to fill a gap. If this is the case, stop! Step back and prayerfully ask yourself, family members and God if this is the right course for you to take.

Ask yourself, ‘What is the worst thing that can happen?’ Is this gap something I can trust God with, or am I trusting in my own efforts?

There may be other team members who will step into the void when it appears. They may not have the courage to do so until they see that their contribution is needed.

Even if this doesn’t happen, isn’t God’s grace big enough to make up the difference?

Realise that the worst thing that can REALLY happen is that you is that you fill the ministry gap and become stretched so thin you dry up, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically. Eventually the very thing you are working to keep will be lost to you.

Trap #3: Prioritising Service Above Relationship

Martha was so busy serving her guests that she didn’t take time to be with her guests. She had become so stressed that the most important part of hospitality, spending time WITH her Guest, was neglected.

Martha was conforming to a misguided value that serving Jesus by taking physical action is the most important thing a Christian can do.

Sometimes, like Martha, we embrace the same belief. This can arise out of urgency to meet a genuine need.

The dire circumstance of unreached people groups and lost people in our community heading towards a Christ-less eternity can become a driving force. For many years, my husband and I were involved in world missions. But many times we were in danger of neglecting personal and family issues as well as our personal relationship with Jesus.

More than once I have become so engaged in meeting needs until I had nothing left to give. I call this, ‘Christian service burnout.’

The presupposition is that our highest act of service to God is to offer all of our gifts, time and energy to the cause of Christ.

But is that really what Jesus wants?

Trap #4: Valuing Other People’s Opinions Above Our Devotional Life

Another trap we can fall into is to give way to the pressure of other people’s opinions or values. It is important to note that Mary did not allow Martha’s opinion to sway her from spending time with Jesus.

Be a Non-Conformist Like Mary

It takes courage not to conform to the expectations of others in our world—especially the opinions of other Christians! But we must have that courage if we will have Mary’s reward.

Watch out when your intention to release or bring focus to your ministry is resisted. It is understandable that you will be missed, but you are not irreplaceable.

As prophetic people, the greatest investment we can make into our relationship with God, our spiritual gifts and ministries is the personal time we spend with Jesus—our devotional life.

As you plan for the coming year, will you value your relationship with Jesus above service?

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Related Posts:

Spiritual Renewal: Cafe Moments with God

7 Signs of Spiritual Dryness

7 Ways to Combat Spiritual Dryness

© Helen Calder    Enliven Blog   David McCracken Ministries

• What do you do when daily devotions became a daily grind a long time ago, and now they’re nearly non-existent?

• What do you do when you are so dry, you’ve lost the ability to be thirsty for God?

• What happens when you can’t face Bible study because it has become another place to spiritually perform—and you don’t have an ounce left to give?

What do you do when you’re in Christian leadership—but can hardly face the prospect of a church meeting? What do you do when you’ve got nothing left to give?

If any of this rings true for you, or you are concerned that at the rate you’re going you might end up like this, or you have been there and are on a journey of recovery —you’re not alone.

You may also know of someone who is heading down this track, and be wondering how you can help them.

I heard someone say recently, ‘Your mess becomes your message.’ That being the case, I thought it was time to start to share what I’ve learned. Thankfully, as I mentioned in another blog post, the River has begun to flow for me again.

Over the next few weeks, I will be focusing on keys to spiritual renewal in this blog. We will be looking at questions like:

• Hungering for God—why is it important and where does it lead?

• What is Christian-service-burnout?

• How can I get excitement and expectancy back in my devotional life?

• Is falling in love with the Bible again possible (why did it get so dry)?

• How am I uniquely wired to connect with God (and why do I try to be like everybody else)?

I want to encourage you to engage with your own experiences, ideas and feedback.

Can you relate to any of this? Have you discovered some keys to recovery from spiritual dryness or burnout? Leave us a note in the comments.

PS if you receive this post by email, and would like to join in the conversation, click on the blog title in the email and it will take you directly to the blog post, where you can read and leave comments.