Good fathers begin this precious relationship by pouring in love, wisdom, and encouragement by whispering sweetly to their baby girls while they are not even able to talk. From the first encounters with his daughter, he pours out promises of protection and his presence in her life.
God loves pouring into His daughters this way.
As we spend time in His presence, He pours His Spirit into our hearts. Quiet time with God alone offers a refilling. We are only able to pour out to others if we are continually filled with our Father's love, encouragement, power, and wisdom. When we miss these refills, we can only minister to others out of dry, dark places. This is serving in our own strength, and will only lead to burnout and frustration.
In Revelation, the church in Ephesus is reminded to return to their "first love". In the natural sense, for many girls, their first love is their daddy. The same must be so in the spiritual. Our first love is our love for our Father, Abba God. Revelation 2:5, tells us that the key to returning to our first love is to repent from where we are and turn back to the way we were when we first came to Christ. We must go back to that childlike faith we had, that total dependence on God, that eagerness and desire to spend time in His presence.
If we find ourselves feeling dark and dry when it comes to God and our faith, we should take a trip back to those moments in the beginning of our relationship with Him. There, He held us in His arms and whispered sweet promises of love, protection, and encouragement. There, we find the pouring in of the oil that allows us to minister in power, in line with the Spirit of our Daddy. There, we shine brightly, and are never dry.
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