Life In the Pond

Luke 6:45 - "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of he evil treasures brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart." ( the KJV it says "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.")

abundance - periseuma (per-is'-syoo-mah) - a surplus or superabundance; what is left over after something is full; there is enough and extra to spare

"Abundant mentality" is a buzz phrase that is racing through Christian circles these days. Entire sales forces are steeped in this thought process. "You are worth it!" "You deserve it!" "You can have it all!" As I look at the exceeding riches of His inhereitance in us, I don't wrestle with those statements too much until I begin to look just a little deeper. What is inside the heart of the "abundant thinker"?

My mind began to ponder this verse in Luke a few days ago. I was at my niece's house and saw a lovely pool of water. This was no ordinary pond. This was something called a "patio pond". My niece doesn't have a huge plot of land where a sprawling pond can stretch providing an ecosystem for plants and fish. Those kinds of ponds are up in the mountains near our home. Right in the city, though, was this refreshing pond. The pond has a waterfall over some rocks that poured into a pond at the bottom of the structure. The whole draw of htis pond is that after a busy day, you can sit by it, watch the fish swim and unwind from the busy day.

I began to wonder how that pond kept working. Of course I understood that there was a pump that kept the water recycling. The plan of the pond includes a complete cleaning system. But, as I stared at that pond, I wondered if that pond ever would get dry. Would it ever run out of water?

I live in a pretty arid part of the US so our 15% humidity means wet things dry up fairly fast. Evaporation is a concern that we have. As I looked at that pond, I wondered how it keeps spilling over from one place to the next. My niece explained that every other day, she had to add water or the system wouldn't continue to work. The whole ecosystem must have enough water to spill from one area of the pond to the next. There must be an abundance of water that will fall from one place to the next.

The Holy Spirit dropped deep into my heart a reminder that the "ecosystem" of the Father's Presence in me must be filled to overflowing. My life is more than just a pond that keeps refilling, but it is an abundance of what He is working in me. What I have in my "ecosystem" (my heart) is what flows out of my mouth.

If you want the things of God to spill out of your mouth to others, you must have the "system" of the Father working in you.It's pretty easy to see what is in a person's heart. Listen to them talk. As I looked at that pond, I realized that it wasn't going to hold anything that would not fit in that ecosystem. What finds a way of surviving in my heart? What do I "feed" on? Do I daily take in the Word of God? Do I want the Presence of the Father to fill me and then overflow from me? Am I full enough of Him that there is extra flowing out of me as I speak?


Father,

Show me where I have no fresh flow of You in my life. Help me hear what I am speaking to those around me. What is it telling about what is in the "ecosystem" of my heart? I want to be so full of Your living water, that when I speak, my words will declare what You are doing in me. I want that kind of abundant mentality. May the treasure (ecosystem) in my heart be so full that it flows out and blesses those around me!

Amen