Pouring In and Pouring Out
Creative people have to be fed from the divine source. I have to get fed. I had to get filled up in order to pour out. —Johnny Cash
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! —Psalm 46:10 NKJV
Johnny Cash spoke from the perspective of an artist and a performer. But the point he made applies to everyone. None of us is self-sustaining. None of us possesses a bottomless reservoir of energy, strength, wisdom, motivation, or stamina. For us to function at our highest level, we need to regularly tap into a source who possesses an endless supply of those and other things.
That source, of course, is God Himself. And as we consider the best way to tap into God’s resources, we need to look at the example Jesus set during His earthly ministry.
Jesus prioritized time alone with His Father. He chose again and again to give His first and best moments to talking and listening to God in solitude. The fact that we know this about Jesus is no accident. God means for us to know this detail about His Son’s personal spiritual rhythms because He means for us to apply them to our lives. The example of Jesus calls His people into rhythms of retreating from the world and entering into it.
The healthy Christian life is neither completely solitary nor completely social. We must learn to withdraw, like Jesus, into isolation to have private quality time with God (Mark 1:35) and then return to the busyness of daily life and the needs of others. We must learn to set aside a regular time for spiritual rest, in some temporarily sacred place, to feed our souls and enjoy God’s presence in the stillness. After we address our own spiritual needs, we are able to operate from a position of strength in helping others address theirs.
The retreating is key to this strategy. Some people might point out that since God is everywhere, we can commune with Him anywhere, at any time. Yet while it’s true that God can give all of Himself to us anywhere, the perpetual distractions of our noisy culture make it impossible for us to give all of ourselves to Him. That’s why the solitude that Jesus sought is essential to us.
Jesus’ timing is key too. Read this account of Jesus in Mark 1:35: “Very early the next morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and left the house. He went out of town to a lonely place, where He prayed” (GNT). The wee hours of the morning gave Jesus the setting He needed for spiritual refreshment and filling. Luke makes it clear that this pattern of retreat and reentry was routine for Jesus: “He would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Luke 5:16 ESV).
God served as Jesus’ source of spiritual nourishment. He fed Jesus so that Jesus could feed others. He poured His wisdom and guidance into Jesus so that Jesus could pour His wisdom and guidance into others. And as Johnny Cash understood, God stands ready to do the same for us. If we want to be a source of spiritual nourishment, support, and encouragement for others, we must turn to God every day for our own nourishment, support, and encouragement.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the incredible privilege of spending time alone with You. Thank You for feeding me when I’m spiritually undernourished, for recharging me when my internal battery runs low, and for pouring into me so that I may pour into others. Guide me in Your ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is an excerpt from Walking the Line: 90 Devotions of Truth and Hope Based on the Faith of Johnny Cash – a new devotional now available on DaySpring.com. Shop all books, journals, and devotions from DaySpring here.
