Good morning and happy Saturday. I hope that you had a great. For those of us that were on the Mexico mission trip, we are grateful for your prayers and for having had the opportunity to go. It was a great trip and the team that God assembled was wonderful. I am already looking forward to going back this fall.
I was stopped at a light the other day when I noticed the truck in front of me. It had tanks mounted on top of the toolboxes on each side of the bed. Each one was attached to a pump. The thing I noticed most was the sign on each side that said, “Do not run dry.” From my previous life in construction, I learned that two things can happen when you run a system dry. The first thing is not as severe. If you run it dry you then have to prime the pump once again to get it going. That would happen frequently when attempting to de-water an area on a project. Especially if someone left the unit unattended. However, the second scenario was far more severe. If the pump ran for too long without water running through it, it would burn the motor up. That was no bueno. Something similar is true on your car. If you let your car run dry of gas, then it will stop running. Fortunately, it is a fairly quick fix. You simply need to add some gas and get going once again. In the old days, there were some cars that it was more complicated than that. But now, you just take that walk of shame with that new, bright red can you bought at QuikTrip and put a gallon of liquid gold in it. Now, if you let your vehicle run dry of water or oil, that’s a whole other story. You may severely damage the motor and have thousands of dollars in repair bills. Try your best to avoid that situation. When we passed through Hermosillo recently, we were reminded of the large reservoir that once was there. It has long since run dry and looks likes a desert. In many areas of the world, lakes, rivers, and streams are running dry. Often, there are many factors: over usage and drought-like conditions are not a good combination. Obviously, when the water source dries up it is not a good thing for anybody. Water scarcity in some parts of the world is a serious problem for many of the world’s poorest people. Unlike our youth that use the phrase, “I am dying of thirst” when they need a cup of water, it is literally true for millions. It a figurative sense, your bank account runs dry when your withdrawals begin to exceed your deposits. It is when you have too much month left at the end of the money. It is also true when you work really hard for a prolonged period of time. Soon you discover that you become physically and/or mentally exhausted. You are running dry. You will realize that God did not create you to run 24/7 indefinitely. He is the One that created rest in the first place.
Do you realize this is also true of you spiritually? If you aren’t careful, you can actually run dry in this vital area of your life. Not unlike your budget, if your output exceeds your input, you could eventually run dry. I mean, if Jesus needed to get up early, get away from the crowds and spend time alone with God, do you think we can get by without doing the same? It is vital for us to take the time to be in God’s Word, reading, listening, learning, and refilling our spiritual tank. For each of us, we need to explore what it is that revives us spiritually. It could be listening to worship music, podcasts of sermons, reading a biography of a missionary, memorizing a verse, meditating on a passage of Scripture, having a meaningful spiritual conversation with a friend, going on a mission trip, etc. The important thing to remember is that we all need to be intentional at keeping the tank from running dry. We are all of more use to the kingdom when we are in a good place spiritually, physically and emotionally. Heed the message on the signs: Do not run dry.
Though not a perfect illustration of what we are talking about, in 1 Kings 19 we see the prophet Elijah after he had just won an incredible spiritual victory. It was literally a mountaintop experience as he was used by God to defeat the prophets of Baal. However, it is evident that he was worn out by it all, that he had run dry. He needed to rest, have some food and water, and, most of all, be in the presence of the Lord.
1Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don’t make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow!”
3 Then Elijah became afraidand immediately ran for his life. When he came to Beer-sheba that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there, 4 but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree.
Suddenly, an angel touched him. The angel told him, “Get up and eat.” 6 Then he looked, and there at his head was a loaf of bread baked over hot stones, and a jug of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 Then the angel of the Lord returned for a second time and touched him. He said, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” 8 So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 He entered a cave there and spent the night.
Suddenly, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life.”
11 Then he said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.”
At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies,” he replied, “but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they’re looking for me to take my life.”
15 Then the Lord said to him, “Go and return by the way you came to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17 Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu. 18 But I will leave seven thousand in Israel—every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
Spend time with the Lord today. Don’t run dry.
From our neighborhoods to the nations,
Pastor Larry
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