Scripture: Isaiah 58:10–11, NIV
“…And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
Living a fulfilled life is the desire of every living being. Many of us attempt to find life in the wrong way in the wrong places, and in following the wrong pursuits.
The best antidote for fighting depression, anxiety, fear, and other negative emotions that can cripple us is to discover what we have been designed for, and to use ourselves in conformance to our design. In some way we want to help meet the needs of other people, spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally.
We have been designed for eternity. God has a purpose for us, and we need to discover what that is as we cultivate our relationship with him. When we serve his purposes in conformance with his plan, we place ourselves in a position to experience God’s favor and blessing.
In today’s passage, we see God is interested in our helping to meet the needs of others. When we are involved in such exercises, we have less time to think about ourselves, and we find ourselves in the river of God’s blessing.
We have the promise of his guidance, and that he will satisfy our needs in the spiritual wilderness in which we find ourselves. “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:25, NIV)
We will be refreshed by his guidance and strength. I love the picture of being a well-watered garden, a spring flowing waters that never fail.
This brings us to the point that we must be involved in something bigger than ourselves. Then we can be a beneficiary like Jacob:
“In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft. The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.” (Deuteronomy 32:10–12, NIV)
God alone is our Provider. We are, then, very careful to make sure we take no foreign god with us on our journey through this world.
Today, ask yourself:
In what ways am I helping to refresh other people, so I can be refreshed myself?
How has this website helped you?