Distillation

So many of you, my readers, minister to others in a variety of ways.  Some of you are in a position of direct teaching or preaching; some lead Bible studies, counsel, mentor, disciple, pray for inner and outer healing, or even take people into their homes.  Whatever ministry(ies) God has called you to, there is an instructive word He spoke out to me this morning:  distillation.

When God shows us something, it’s often over the course of time or experience...or in the context of other thoughts or messages.  When He calls us to share the heart of the message with others, the heart of it sometimes gets lost in our own convoluted thoughts. We want to tell the whole detailed story of the trails we followed and our stops along the way.  We want to share the whole, big picture, but instead, the burning truth of it gets buried, or even diluted in the extraneous.

This morning I was given a picture of both dilution (a watering down) and distillation, which produces the dripping concentrate. Despite all the thoughts and progressions which eventually produced the rich liquid we are to share, let’s not feel the need to take other people through the rabbit holes and circuitous travels of our minds which landed us there.  A friend once called it a ‘tightly wound’ message which people will remember and take to heart.  To switch analogies, one golden nugget to hold and turn over in one’s hand can be worth a wheelbarrow of unmined rock.

The Holy Spirit will take others on their own, mindful  journeys. Let’s joyfully share our most recent God-given teaching or insight via only its critical milestones, extending in our hands the nutrient-rich distillation for others to drink.