“‘The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life’ (John 4:14).

We are to be fountains through which Jesus can flow as ‘rivers of living water’ in blessing to everyone. Yet some of us are like the Dead Sea, always receiving but never giving. Whenever the blessings are not being poured out in the same measure they are received, there is a defect in our relationship with Him. Stay at the Source, closely guarding your faith in Jesus Christ and your relationship to Him, and there will be a steady flow into the lives of others with no dryness or deadness whatsoever” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

I couldn’t agree more.

If all you do is receive and never give back, there will come a saturation point when you will cease to be able to take anymore in. It will all become just words and sounds.

Maybe if you feel like you’ve lost the ability to hear God speak, it’s because it’s time to take what He’s already told you and pour into the lives of others. In the life of faith, it’s always better to be a sharer rather than a hoarder.

I think I remember reading once that when you hear a sermon or a lecture, you retain a very small amount. When you hear it and write it down, you retain more. When you listen with the intent to pass it along to someone else, you retain much more. Best of all, when you listen and then put it into practice, you will not merely retain knowledge but be transformed, which is far better.

I think I’d do well to take some of my own words to heart more. I hope that you and I will continually find people in your life that we can pour into.