Imagine driving your car down a peaceful country road on a beautiful spring day. The sun is shining, warming the air, and the breeze coming through the open windows feels refreshing against your skin. Your muscles relax and your mind begins to clear. As you look around, brilliant shades of green converge with pinks and yellows, forming a colorful blanket of new life coming up from the earth.
After a few minutes, you notice a small orchard of apple trees ahead. As you pass the orchard, you notice that while most of the trees are blooming with crisp leaves and tiny apples, there is one tree that is not blooming. Its branches are bare, and its bark is dry and unhealthy. You wonder why this tree is failing to grow and produce fruit while all the other trees surrounding it flourish.
While we may not know why that tree is not thriving, we can recognize this same scenario in our own lives. We may find ourselves failing to thrive, having lost our passion for life, burned out, or thirsty for relief from our burdens. We become like the malnourished tree: failing to thrive and empty.
It’s easy to become disconnected from Jesus, our vine of life. Our lives are like the branches of this vine clinging close to Him in order to remain spiritually nourished. We are nourished by spiritual “food.” Activities such as prayer, reading the Bible, worship, and participating in a small group help to nourish our need. Just as physical food is a daily necessity for our bodies, so spiritual food is necessary for the soul. When we’re well nourished, our lives thrive and bear great fruit.
Spend some time today assessing your spiritual life. Do you feel empty and hungry? If so, eat some spiritual food. Delve into the Word. Pray about how you can spend time growing closer to God. He is waiting to feed you.
(Photo courtesy of morguefile and Orb.)
(For more devotions, visit us at www.christiandevotions.us.)
Excellent reminder of the mandatory (only) way to thrive as a Christian!