How to prepare our vessel to be filled

Hebrews 11:4-6

How much faith do you place in the precious resource, water?  It is something that seems to be abundant.  We fill our swimming pools, and we have lakes, rivers and oceans full of it.  The experts tell us that we have vast aquifers of drinkable water, and the same experts are telling us we are running out of this precious liquid.  In some parts of the United States of America the reclaiming of rainwater is legal, in a few of the Western states, including Utah, Washington and Colorado, have long outlawed individuals from collecting rainwater on their own properties because, according to officials, that rain belongs to someone else.  I’ve also taken notice that water rights are being bought up by people like T. Boone Pickens, who thinks water is the new oil—and he's betting $100 million that he's right.

So this thought came into my mind, have I taken for granted this resource, how much faith have I put in having water that is essential for life on planet earth?  Is not water, especially rainwater that falls on my property a gift from God?  With that information and the fact that our water provider in Canyon Lake is raising our water rates over the next year 78%, I began to search, with diligence, how to reduce my dependence on our provider. 

I must tell you that much of my searching has been looking to others who make claims of knowing how to reclaim this essential for living on planet earth.  Much of what I’ve done is by faith, that after the output of time and money, the rain will come and my investment will provide for my family this crucial resource of life.  How in the world does water, a thing we can touch, drink, and feel, having anything to do with faith?  In Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  My thinking from the beginning of this project was, unless God blesses me with rain, all my efforts are in vain, I’m preparing a vessel but I’m looking to God to fill it.

As you look back into history mankind has tried to go it alone, live life on their terms, often acting as if there is no God.  Paul the apostle, in his letter to the Romans gives insight to our problem; chapter 1: 19-20, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So they are without excuse.”  Our nation was founded on God given rights, and though our nations has moved away from God, let a hurricane or earthquake cause death and destruction, and they are quick to call it an act of God.  Also your insurance company believes in God, and you will find written in your policy, acts of God.  So it is not that government and insurance companies do not believe in God when it works to their benefit, but could it be that they do not want to submit to His authority.

But if our vessel is going to enjoy the fullness of God, we must prepare it to be filled, just like I have, by faith, prepared the tanks to receive water.  Verse six of the manufacturers handbook gives us some great instruction on how to prepare our vessel to be filled with the Spirit.  “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”  God has all the answers to all your questions, and like the water, it requires us to seek, listen and then obey, and wait for our tanks to be filled.

Form the Back Porch,

Bob Rice