At a time of transition in my life, the Lord provided a new word of encouragement for me:
“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills, and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the LORD your God.
Amos 9:13-15
This passage reminded me of a song that has been speaking life into me for several years since the first time I heard it, a reminder that “in the crushing, in the pressing, You are making new wine.”
But last week I saw a video on Instagram that brought to mind something else I hadn’t really considered.
I found Athena Avellanet on Instagram by chance and I love listening to her messages. They are short, sweet, and to the point. I’d like to share her original video so that you see for yourself what she had to say:
Amen!
In our life circumstances, God allows us to be crushed and pressed to bring forth that new wine written about in the song by Hillsong. And like a diamond undergoes pressure while it is being created, and silver is refined in a super-high heat to allow the dross (impurities) to rise to the top to be taken out, we will have times in life where we are crushed, pressed, and even super-heated. New wine will be created. But as Athena pointed out, what about the storage of what has been created?
The Holy Spirit brought to mind what Jesus had to say about that in the book of Luke:
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.
Jesus, Luke 5:37-38
I too have been guilty of asking for that new growth, for those new assignments–all of which are good things–but all without fully thinking through how I’m going to “store” that new thing.
Stewardship is defined as “the job of supervising or taking care of something”1. How can I care for something well if I am not equipped well?
For years, I wanted to write a book. But clearly I was not ready for such an assignment because it was not entrusted to me until fairly recently. In fact, November 10th was the 1 year birthday of Everyday Ministry. Prior to that, my wineskin was not ready to hold the new wine that Everyday Ministry has and will become.
Now please understand: there is nothing wrong with asking for more from God. He desires that we desire more of Him, that we stretch and grow and claim more territory. Scripture confirms this:
- Philippians 1:9-11: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.”
- Isaiah 54:2: “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.”
- 1 Chronicles 4:10: “Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm [some translations say evil] so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.”
In order to receive more blessings and assignments from God, we have to be taking care of ourselves and what we already possess. I hesitate to call it “self-care”, as the world has taken that to an extreme. It’s more like making sure we are tending to the garden that is our relationship with God.
Jesus sought solitude and spent time reconnecting with God. We are called to do that same thing, because spending time with our Maker keeps us new and fresh, able to handle the next thing that comes our way and maintain the wineskins of our lives.
The psalmist wrote in Psalm 42, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (v. 1-2)
It’s not a crime to take care of your physical and mental health so that you can serve God more effectively. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20). And if your gas tank is running on empty all the time, eventually you’re going to find yourself stranded somewhere you don’t want to be.
Seeking God and honoring the Sabbath rest will help you keep your wineskin able to hold the next thing God gives you.
Ask, and you will receive! (Matthew 7:7) At the same time, make sure you are maintaining your capacity to be a good steward of what you are asking from God. Ministry is a double-edged sword, where you are able to give and give–but eventually your well can run dry if you aren’t being mindful of keeping it full. Jesus is the well that never runs dry (John 4), so make sure you take time often to be at His well and find refreshment.
Blessings,
~Lynne
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