Rivers, Fakers, and Lakers

It’s certainly not an original thought, but one that’s been on my mind a bit recently. If we are relating to God, seeking His face and letting him meet all of our emotional needs, then we’re full of all we need, And since our needs are abundantly met, we can begin to overflow like rivers overflowing their banks onto parched, dusty dry land.  Man, there is a lot of parched land out there.

If we’re not being filled, we’re empty and become like lakes, hoping and needing to be filled by others and other things. I’ve spent many years doing this, trying to latch onto people and things, to have them meet my needs. Maybe I pretended to be a river, but in reality I expected them to reciprocate, to help fill my emptiness. In so doing, I revealed that I was not a river. I was really a fake river.  I was a laker.

I hope my acting days are over. I know I don’t have what it takes to generate what it takes to meet my emotional, physical, and spiritual needs, and I don’t want to burden others to meet my needs. And I don’t want to be a fake river, pretending to give only to expect to receive.

So if I’m dry, I pray that I won't strive.  I’ll try to be satisfied just being dry and will look to the One who provides the water I so desperately need. Instead of playing mind games to get you to give me some kind of substitute that won’t really satisfy me anyway. And I think I know enough not to try to meet my own needs. (No, I do not “believe in myself.”) I’ll wait for His river to fill me. That’ll take faith…the first SLOPpy step of the Spiritual Loser's Operations Plan.

The good news is, of course, that once lakers get filled, they begin to spill over and become the source...of rivers.

“So Champ,” you say, “You’ve been blabbin’ and bloggin’ for a couple of months. You promised to report whether this is real or hot air. Which is it?”

I don’t know. As I’ve said before I’m not a professional. I’m a loser looking to follow God and wondering if I‘m on to something here. I certainly don’t want to lead anyone down a foolish path. But I can say this: I’m beginning to see victories…some big victories…and failures, in areas where before I only saw failures. Enough victories where I feel I’ve got enough validation that maybe I‘m heading in the right direction. I’ll keep you posted.