The Spirit without limit
For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God,
for God gives the Spirit without limit. ~John 3:34
It has been raining day and night for three days straight.
What I have been amazed at is that there is relatively minimal flooding. We are currently staying in the Kalahari desert, and I suppose the the ground is so dry and the sand so porous that it quickly drinks in the large quantity of water falling upon it.
As I was reading the Bible this morning with my husband, we came across this verse above in John chapter three. It is a familiar passage of scripture, as it hosts the story of Nicodemus and the well known John 3:16, but the little verse towards the end grabbed us.
"... for God gives the Spirit without limit."
As I laid in bed a little longer, listening to the raining beating upon the tin roof above us, I could not help but think of the limitless outpouring of the Spirit that is available to us.
You see, it matters what kind of ground you are. I lived in Arizona for awhile, a desert as well. The difference was that when there was a downpour of rain, the ground was so hard it was unable to soak in the water. Flooding was inevitable. It had been so long between rains it was as if the ground never expected water again; it was not prepared. It had grown accustom to "life" without water.
The desert here is different. There are still long periods of time between rains, but it knows the cycle. It is ready for the rains. And when the rains come, it is amazing how quickly life emerges. It seems as though thing turn green over night.
I want to be like the sand of the Kalahari desert, porous and ready to receive vast quantities of the Spirit. I do not want to become accustom to life without the Spirit. Sometimes it seems there are lulls, times without an outpouring, but I want to keep my soul expectant of the next "rain", the next limitless outpouring of the Spirit, and be ready to come to life, ready to grow.
November 21, 2009 at 12:12 AM
Oh!, me too Layne....thanks for the inspiration to sit and soak up the rain! (It has rained (water!) here all day too!!)Mama XO
November 23, 2009 at 2:48 AM
i really, really, really like this Layne! thanks for sharing. :)
November 23, 2009 at 4:05 AM
I loved this. So true! Nothing like God's water that turns things green instantly and so beautifully!