Don't Die in the Drought

"I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent." Revelation 3:1b-3a


Right before the drought that has hit our area of the country, I bought quite a few plants for a flowerbed off of our patio. One of them being a Gardenia. Gardenias are beautiful plants with full blooms but they are also very stubborn. They only like so much sun, need lots of water and even are particular on the temperatures they will bloom in. When the drought set in, I wasn't very mindful of the grass and even much of the flowers. I figured eventually it would rain and they would be fine. Some of them were. The Gardenia plant, on the other hand, is a far cry from o.k. It is pretty close to death. Even though I watered it occasionally (which kept the rest of the plants alive) I didn't give it the time and amount of sustainable water it needed. I am not sure how much longer it will last, but I am holding on hope that it will make it.
Our spiritual lives can be similar to that Gardenia. Some of us do just enough to get by (go to church, say a prayer before a meal) and that might sustain us for a while. It could potentially sustain us for years. The problem is, without growth, without taking the time to really nurture our faith, we can not live out our lives the way God intended. When we merely maintain our faith, we might be able to get through daily issues and even raise our kids to want to go to church. But, when the fire and drought come, we will find that what we have used to keep us feeling o.k. will not get us through the hard times. If we never learn to seek God earnestly and learn to do what He taught, we will wither away. If we want to learn to feed ourselves, we have to take time and effort. It means not just going to church, but being a part of a church whether its serving, being in a small group or other involvement. We need to not just pray at our meals, but seek Him we need direction, thank Him for his many blessings and cry out to Him when we are suffering. We need to find ways to help us grow in our walk with Christ. I hope that this week, you will search out areas in your spiritual life that need tending to.