June-July 2018 Branches

SOUTHWOOD
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THE
SOURCE
Desperately Drinking Deeply
from God's Word
by Peter Render
As the summer approaches and the two weeks of Alabama spring
give way to summer weather, I have realized something about myself:
I drink a lot of water. As I have worked in my yard throughout the
past few months, I have noticed that I will down roughly one 64 oz.
Nalgene of water for every hour that I am outside. Of course I can go
without the water, but the absence of water tends to make my mouth
cottony and also makes me loathe what I am doing. When I have
water, however, I feel refreshed and seem to enjoy my work. Not
only that, but I cannot seem to wait to get more water. Knowing
these two binary realities, why would I ever work without water?
Over the past few weeks, I have been poring over Biblical
wisdom literature (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of
Solomon). Throughout all of the stories, all of the sayings, all of
the laments, all of the praise, all of the knowledge, there seems
to be one continual truth being expressed: The full and total
understanding of God’s work and plan is not a prerequisite
for the people of God to be faithful. In our crazy, confusing,
and mixed-up lives, we are often left wondering what God
would have us do in a given moment. Perhaps the writer in
Ecclesiastes answers this best for us when he says, “The end
of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his
commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (12:13).
The preacher has spent twelve chapters teaching on every
joy, triumph, and heartache that man can experience in
life, and chooses to sum everything up like this?
6 JUNE & JULY 2018 | SOUTHWOOD.ORG