Nothing is more frustrating than trying to swim in six inches of water when a clear, inviting river is flowing by. Or trying to quench your thirst with a few musty drops when living water is springing up.
In our local church most of our energies were exhausted in keeping ourselves afloat. We had few resources left to reach out for those drowning around us. We had just enough water to slake our thirst, but not enough to flow out to those famishing on the shore.
We had just enough "religion" to call ourselves Christians, just enough "good works" to pacify our consciences, just enough prayer to make us feel good, just enough converts to save face when reporting to our denomination. We had just enough Bible study to challenge our minds but not to change our hearts; just enough positive thinking to say our cup was half full.
But one day we faced the truth. Our cup really was half empty, and the water was stale. What, then, did we do about the words of Jesus, "From [your] innermost being shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38, NASB)?
A genuine thirst for revival drove us to search for something to satisfy. We heard of past holiness movements out of which our church was born. We heard of revival centers in the world today where God manifests His power. We thought, Why not us?
We had tried to do all the right things to be a growing, effective church--good preachers, musical talent, building programs, long-range plans, measurable goals, small groups, and seminars. We tried to be relevant, attractive, and appealing.
But board members could have problems with lust. Workers could go home and lose their tempers with their children. We could bicker among ourselves and criticize our pastors.
And we wondered why new converts had trouble breaking ties with the world ... why church work grew dry and routine ... why young people strayed ... why altar services dwindled ... why only a few did all the work ... why we fell short of our goals ... why marriages broke up ... why the world was so unaffected by us!
Many of us had been taught that we could live a holy life and we accepted it mentally. But we could not incorporate this doctrine into our daily words, actions, and thoughts. A number of people felt a gnawing hunger to really know God.
Finally, we examined ourselves individually and as a church. Then we asked God to show us where we had failed Him and how He wanted us to change.
We found that our "religion" contained a mixture of truth, but denied power ... that our "good works" represented self-efforts, producing few lasting results. We found that we had to experience the kind of prayer that doesn't make you feel good at all, a "holy mourning."
God dropped His plumb line into our midst, raising a standard of Christianity far higher than we had considered possible for us. We saw our crookedness, our waywardness, how far we had "missed the mark." The fear of God shook us awake to see a holy God who expects His people to be holy, a perfect Savior who died to remove all those weights we were carrying around.
A purging swept every level of our church. The church board repented of past policies concerning finances and personnel. Sunday School teachers repented for teaching how to cope with sin rather than how to be rid of sin. Musicians repented for performing rather than worshiping in spirit and in truth. Planners repented for developing their own master plan rather than seeking the Master's plan. Children's leaders repented for entertaining rather than evangelizing. Youth workers repented for seeking worldly appeal rather than godly approval. Servers repented for doing it "my way," not bowing to others, as was His way.
After long months of confession, prevailing prayer, and examining our hearts by the light of God's Word, the Lord himself took us by the hand and led us into His river. As He had shown Ezekiel long ago, he measured out a thousand cubits, and we swam deeper into this river that flows from the throne of God. As we continue to obey God, taking His Word simply and literally for our lives, He carries us upon the current of His Holy Spirit.
At first it's a little scary to get out to where your feet no longer touch bottom. Is this why we stumbled along in the muddy sidelines so long? Not wanting to let go of the measurable, the familiar, the safe ground? Wanting to follow our plans, carry out our programs, hold to the methods we had been taught, keep control?
Many Christians congregate in the shallows, finding safety in numbers. Fear of man paralyzes them into obeying the shouts of, "Hold on tight to the banks of tradition."
To whom are we listening? The authors of textbooks and how-to manuals, or the Author who writes His commandments on our hearts, makes our lives "living letters"?
By what are we swayed? Winds of doctrine or winds of the Holy Spirit?
What do we feed on daily? Humanistic hash or the "hidden manna" promised to those who conquer?
Can anyone deny today that many of our churches are dry, wilderness deserts? Yet we are promised water.
"... Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs ... And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness ... (Isaiah 35:6-8, NIV)
Have we strayed from that highway of holiness?
The Bible tells us Ezra lived at a time of spiritual dryness, when the captivity had induced a thorough purging and it was time to rebuild the Temple. He grieved over the sin of the people. But he exclaimed, "Yet now there is hope for Israel." "Hope" here in the Hebrew means "plenty of water."
It's OK to admit we are thirsty, and dry, and in need of washing. Because in doing so, we have hope. There is plenty of water!
At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out like water. Today, our only hope is a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our churches.
Pray for floods upon the dry ground. Plunge into the River of Life. Be revived!
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Copyright © 1986, 2006, Catherine Lawton
Published in Herald of Holiness
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