Visit the water stations regularly
“So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus.” (2 Peter 1:5 – 8, The Message)
Marathon experts state emphatically that under no circumstances should you ever skip a water station. Runners World says, “Water stations are an absolute must during a race, so be sure to have more than you think you need. Even when the weather turns colder, water is an absolute necessity for keeping runners healthy.” Water stations 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 renew spiritual passion by visiting the water stations described by author Gordon MacDonald as “safe places, still times, and special friends.”
We can renew spiritual passion through safe places. These 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 regular visits to safe places 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 to our favorite locations. 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 late at night, though now it’s because it’s a good time to be alone in a quiet environment! Consider which physical locations you frequent that can become sanctuaries for you in spending time listening to, communing, and pouring your heart out to God.
We can renew spiritual passion through still times. These are periods of pausing, waiting, resting, recharging, just being with God. We may feel worn out, depleted, or empty. God’s instruction to us is to “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, ESV). We may feel that we have a great fire in our souls. In that case, there is a huge temptation to go beyond doing only what we see the Father doing (John 5:19), which will result in a dampening of the flames and lukewarmness. Whether we’re in a season of lack or a season of plenty, still times help us to fan into flame the fire of the Holy Spirit. 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).
We can renew spiritual passion through special friends. These are priceless jewels, treasures worth seeking out and investing in. The Bible says that these kinds of friends “stick closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). Special friends care enough to ask the hard questions and 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.” Whether related through family ties or by life circumstances, we need close-sticking and honest special friends to love on and be loved by in all kinds of weather and trouble! It’s usually crises that wake us up to the pricelessness of special friends.
Make sure you visit life-giving stations along the way. There are plenty of things (e.g. negative attitudes, unresolved conflicts, elongated crises, unhealthy relationships) that can drain life from us. We don’t always know what those will look like, but we can be sure we will encounter them. All of us need the refreshment that water stations provide to give us sustenance, courage, hope, passion, perseverance, energy, and whatever else we need to be prepared for the journey ahead.
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