Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25)
God has given His people many guarantees in Scripture. Let this one today both bless and strengthen you for the journey ahead. The principle is crystal clear: In God’s economy, you cannot give without getting.
Whoever refreshes (this is how the NIV translates the Hebrew ravah; many other versions render it “waters”) another has the promise of being refreshed (or watered) by God Himself. In other words, the more we look after and serve others, the more God will look after and serve us. The key is to keep our focus on God and not ourselves. When we lift others, God will lift us. When we comfort others, God will comfort us. When we bless others, God will bless us. This is what I call “divine recompense.” But we must do our part! We must fulfill the condition of proactively refreshing others, knowing that God will fulfill His guarantee to refresh us.
No one ever lived a more “other-oriented” life than our Lord Jesus Christ. He continually put others first. He said plainly that “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). It was Jesus who, on the night He was betrayed, took a towel and a basin and washed the feet of His disciples, setting the eternal example of how His followers are to live their lives all the way into glory.
By nature, this is impossible for you and me. Sin has turned us inward. Our first thought in the morning and our last thought at night is usually rooted in self. Even as Christian believers, who have been baptized by the Holy Spirit and given a new nature, we must fight with all our might against sinful self-absorption and self-centeredness. It’s not easy to put others first! It isn’t easy to think of others more highly than we think of ourselves. But this is the call for every child of God, and that call comes with a wonderful guarantee from God Himself: when we take time to water others, our God will water the streams of our souls to new levels of refreshment.
So . . . have you been refreshing others lately? Remember, the simple act of refreshing (serving, blessing, etc.) others is often the refreshment promised in and of itself. Are you not blessed every time you bless someone else and see the light of joy and gratitude in their eyes? You cannot give without getting; the more you give, the more you get. Your supply of giving will never run out because God is filling it to overflowing. So refresh others and prepare for refreshment from your Redeemer. God has guaranteed it!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 