Why Wither For No Reason?

Ok. Let’s admit it. Often it’s a dire emergency that forces us to run to God in earnest or in haste. Has YOUR prayer closet become a hospital triage? It seems serious quality time alone with God only becomes priority when we suffer severe trauma. Disaster and desperation drive us to our knees faster than anything else.

But God longs to meet us in the “cool of the day,” when the only thing on the agenda is pure fellowship. Yes, the Almighty God wants to sit down and chat with you on a regular basis. He is your Father. But He’s also your friend. Jesus said in John 15:15: “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

And this is no casual friendship God seeks. You wouldn’t tell your deepest secrets to just any friend. Intimacy is what He is after. And that comes only through spending consistent, quality time alone with Him. That’s the only way to know God on a deeper level. And to those who choose to dig deeper, He gladly reveals to them His secret treasures.

In Jeremiah 33:3 God said: “Call to me and I will answer you and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” The faith needed to believe God for “great and hidden things” is cultivated in intimacy. Time alone with God in the Word, Time alone with God in meditation, Time alone with God in prayer; there is nothing more crucial for Christians.

And there is nothing more rewarding either, as Psalms 1:1-3 reminds us: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (KJV)

So why are so many Christians withering? Consider this personal tale:

A peculiar piece of green ivy colors my kitchen. It sits in a glass vase on the counter and gracefully overlooks the breakfast bar stools below. Several months ago, I pinched it off from a massive potted plant in my study. The separation almost killed it though. It fell limp. Then it began to wither. The leaves quickly lost their shiny texture. And a coat of dark drabness set in. Death was certain. But then I put this wilting stem in a glass of water.

Within minutes it started to revive. Days later it had perked up. Before long, stringy roots began to grow. I laughed as they danced and dangled in the water. And then my eyes beheld a miracle. Just below the water level, tiny green leaves started to sprout! Time spent in the water had saved my ivy stem. It only needed to re-connect to its life source.

God is our life source. When we get weak, our spirits perk up at the mere mention of His name. So just imagine how we’d flourish if we tarried in His presence.

Let’s get eager like David who declared, "Early will I rise up and seek thee... My soul followeth hard after thee" (Psalms 63:1, 8)


It would give the Heavenly Father such delight if his beloved sought Him daily, not out of desperation but sheer desire for more of Him. He whispers today, “I miss my time with you. Come commune with me, or you’ll wither for no reason.”

By
Sharon Frame