Based on “Under HIS Influence - The Overflowing Lifestyle”
by Pastor Mark Balmer;
9/5-6/09, Message #MB388;
Daily Devotional #1 -
“Mud Tracks or Miracles”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction): Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. (John 7:38)
Centuries of glacier erosion grinding down the mountainsides of south central Alaska have resulted in the forming of particles of the finest grey-black powder known as glacier silt. This silt lines the banks of the Matanuska River and the basin of the entire Cook Inlet with a strange and treacherous mud.
The stuff seems innocuous enough when in dry patches along the shoreline, but when saturated it can be nearly impossible to extract yourself or your vehicle from its grasp. With every shovel or handful you try to dig away, its round, miniscule particles close back in with amazing speed and power around that foot, or tire, holding you fast no matter how frantic your efforts become.
Clothing exposed to the pervasive muck is permanently stained because those tiny particles work their way into the grain of the fabric and refuse to be released by any cleaning solution known to modern laundresses. Dealing with glacier silt is never a pleasant experience.
Wherever a tiny spring bubbles up out of that mire however, an amazing thing happens. The clear, constant flow of pure, sweet water starts to reshape the uninviting surface of the silt banks. It slowly begins to wash away the silt that’s blocking the flow, until a stream starts to trickle freely with icy, sparkling water. The longer that stream flows, the larger its watercourse becomes, and the more powerful the resulting current.
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth):
Our selfish, fleshly natures are a lot like glacier silt. We might leak the streams of the Holy Spirit as fast as we are filled, but the glacier silt of anger, fear, ambition, and selfishness slides back to entangle and pull us down as fast as we try to shovel it out.
There is no chance of that stinking ooze leaking away on its own. We can’t even push it away, no matter how hard we try. Meanwhile, everything we touch while under the influence of our own personal silt filled lifestyle becomes besmirched and soiled. Instead of bringing the power of God’s living water to cleanse and heal, we leave mud tracks wherever we go.
We need streams of living water to bubble up from within us in a clear, constant flow to clear out the blockages and pour forth the refreshing stream that quenches the thirsty souls around us. While one overflowing experience is good, the mud quickly returns. It takes a constant, steadfast stream to keep a clear channel running.
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response):
The key to a life flowing with streams of living water is belief in Jesus.
When our faith waivers through neglected devotional times with Jesus, for instance, we stop relying on the infilling power of the Holy Spirit in our daily walk. The result is a blockage of the flow of those springs Jesus promised us.
The mud quickly replaces the fountain, and we return to making mud prints instead of splashing life changing miracles wherever we go. Since becoming a Christ Follower, have you had occasion to wish you could retract something that you have said, or undo something you have done? Just like washing away the stains of glacier silt, things done in the influence of our flesh are not easily removed. What we need is a new refilling today.
The Holy Spirit can clear away the works of the flesh and bring cleansing, refreshment, and blessing, if we release the springs He has planted within our hearts. It is not so hard to become empty of self and flowing with God. If there seems to be a blockage of the living water in your life, just turn to Jesus and ask for a new infilling. Then, to keep the channels open, look for a place to pass it on by faith.
Cultivating (Additional Reading): Galatians 5:16-17; Galatians 5:25; Isaiah 44:3
