visit the water stations regularly
Marathon experts state emphatically that under no circumstances should you ever skip a water station – they are vital to your success in finishing the race. We need those places of life-giving refreshment along the way on this long and often difficult journey.
If we don’t care for our spiritual passion, it will gradually fade. We need to guard the life of the Spirit within us, faithfully caring for the inward fire, both for the sake of our own relationship with God and so that we can offer warmth and light to others. We can regain spiritual passion through what author Gordon MacDonald calls “safe places, still times, special friends.”
Safe places are physical locations in our world where we can meet alone with God. Whether sitting in an armchair, walking in a nearby forest, or pottering around in the kitchen, we each need safe places we can visit regularly where we can be ourselves and not be too distracted by the inevitable cares of life. I’m all for communing with the Lord in nature (especially on mountains and beaches), but have learned to be flexible about safe places because many factors impact where and when we can go. For many years, an oft-visited safe place for me was a rocking chair in the middle of the night, feeding one of our precious little ones. Ironically, I’m typing this in the middle of the night, though now it’s because it’s a good time to be alone in a quiet environment!
Still times are periods of pausing, waiting, resting, recharging, just being with God. There may be a great fire in our souls. There is a huge temptation to go beyond doing only what we see the Father doing (John 5:19), which results in a dampening of the flames and lukewarmness. Still times help us to fan into flame the fire of the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19). There’s no shortcut for seeking the Lord. “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).
Special friends are priceless jewels. I hope that the Lord blesses you with some of these. The Bible says that these kinds of friends “stick closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). Special friends care enough to tell you the truth – “Wounds from a friend can be trusted” (Proverbs 27:6). Proverbs 17:17 in The Message says, “Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.” We need close-sticking and honest special friends to love and be loved by in all kinds of weather and trouble!
Make sure you visit life-giving stations along the way – there are plenty of things that drain life from us – we need the refreshment the water stations provide to keep us fully alive and alert, ready for the journey ahead.
