go deeper

Bill Leslie tells of a time when he felt like an old hand-operated water pump. Everyone who came to him for help would pump vigorously a few times, and each time he felt something drain out of him. Ultimately he reached a place of spiritual emptiness. He went on a weeklong spiritual retreat and bared his soul to a spiritual director. He expected her to offer soothing words about what a sacrificial, unselfish person he was. Instead she said: “There’s only one thing to do if your reservoir runs dry. You’ve got to go deeper.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 says: “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”