I was on a plane returning from ministry in the UK and Germany. About 150 women had gathered in Stuttgart for a four-day conference. They were Christian leaders from many different nations—many whom I had served with in the past. It was a great encouragement to hear the way God had used them in their different service opportunities. We met in the international church, where a great speaker I’d met in Singapore years ago, had convened the meetings for those who wanted to know how to better grow their ministries.
How could they better evangelize different cultures, and then disciple and train them to disciple others? How could they better reach and rescue trafficked women, the handicapped and mentally challenged, and find ways to work with women of very diverse cultures and religions? These women were key in their ministries already but they came to learn how to be better at what they did for the Lord, and they all came to renew and refresh their own hearts.
When you are giving out and giving out you need to pause in order to replenish your own soul. The privilege was mine to bring the plenary message. It was a real blessing to me, but then, “…he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Prov. 11:25)!
The interesting part of it to me was that what they asked me to address was not something new or deep, or some modern, clever method of evangelism or mission strategy, but rather, “How can we stay fresh and vital in our relationship with Christ so we can bless others?” And so we went back to the basics and reminded ourselves of the essentials of being “a spring whose waters never fail.” “How do you do that over the long haul?” they asked me. “What keeps you going, Jill? How can we finish strong?”
It is my conviction that we often don’t need to learn anything new—we just need to be reminded of what we know very well already! If we all got back to the basics—knowing and loving God—we could each become formidable for Christ and His cause. In other words, each of us just needs to “take care of business”—to continue the holy work of maintaining our relationship with God and keeping our faith vibrant and fresh.
And so we went back to the basics and reminded ourselves of the essentials of being “a spring whose waters never fail.” Reflecting on this, I took myself to “the steps of my soul.” This was worth “a conversation” with the Lord, don’t you think?
“So Lord, You mean I need to take some sort of action to stay fresh?”
“You already know that, Jill. Remember, I am the water of life. Come often to this knowledge in your mind.”
“I need to soak my mind in the Scriptures? To refresh myself?”
“Yes.”
“I can do that!”
“Do it then.”
“Then what?”
“Overflow!”
“How do I do that?”
“Keep your heart and mind refreshed in My Spirit, and filled to overflowing. Just live your life taking care of business, Jill, and see what happens!”
“Yes!”
“Let’s go!”
I read His Word and prayed, letting Him freshen my mind and fill my soul, and then walked into a dry and dreary world to overflow and bless others.
