Author: Brianboswell

“The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” – Psalm 1:4

Bob Dylan sang a song many years ago and asked a multitude of questions, like how many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man? Dylan says the answer to life’s questions was blowing in the wind. He evidently realized these were questions that you may ask and never get an answer.

In the Bible, we see lots of wind analogies. God’s spirit, is often described as the wind. Jesus says you don’t know where it comes from or where it’s going, just like the wind. I’ve always found this interesting considering most of us like to have formulas as to how to live our lives, yet the Spirit doesn’t operate by formulas. He just goes where He wishes and where He comes from, no one quite knows. It’s a mystery, which is basically the same realization that Bob Dylan finds.

But the Bible is clear about this, those that are wicked, those that have not put their trust in Jesus do have a clear destination and they will be sifted just like wheat and chaff are winnowed. The heavier wheat is left behind while the chaff blows away with the breeze. The Apostle Paul says something similar in his letter to the church in Ephesus. He says that when we become mature in Christ, “we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” (Eph 4:14)

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” Psalm 1:3

Imagine that you were trying to plant something in a desert. Where would you go to start a garden? You most certainly wouldn’t do that on top of a sand dune. No, you would look for a reliable water source. In order for plants to thrive, you must have water and so it is with us. If we are to thrive, we need a spiritual water source.

Throughout Scripture you see the Holy Spirit described in ways involving water. The Holy Spirit in us is like a river welling up inside of us and flowing out of us (John 7:38-39). In other words, you need to be planted, rooted, dug down deep in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings water to your soul. In this life, the world around us is a desert and too many of us plant ourselves somewhere far away from the Holy Spirit.

Most people struggle to see why this is important. We think we get refreshment from a great many things, but most of those things are actually the things that dry us out. We receive true refreshment from being a community of believers, but too many of us are trying to do this alone. We get our true refreshment from being in His Presence, but too many of us find other things to do instead. Our true refreshment can only be found in Him. All other things are simply distractions.

Prayer – Father, thank you for watering my soul in the midst of a dry and weary land. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to bring refreshment to me. Please help me to plant myself near your waters so that my life will be fruitful. Amen.