The "Camel"

The camel is of unique design, when we consider the way in which God created them. Its name means “to go without”; they are capable of surviving in deserts under harsh conditions, going without water and food for extensive periods. They have been created with the capacity to store fatty deposits in their bodies and to draw sustenance from them, where and when they are needed; somewhat like a reserve tank! Nevertheless even those stashes will run out if there is no food and water intake.

The Christian must always be aware of this truth, we may well be on a spiritual high with our treasure troves full of bounty, but if we neglect fellowship with our God it won’t be long before those chests become bare and we will find ourselves suffering loss. “Take nothing for granted”! Remember Joseph’s interpretation to Pharaoh’s dream? When I reflect on the years gone by and I consider the highs of my spiritual life, without exception I was at the very least contending for the faith, fighting wars within and contending with persecution from without, I will confess even though at times I was misguided in one way or another, I was still able to draw from the resources of heavens treasure troves; with an urgency to find grace or forgiveness; as wayward as I may have been my God was still willing to supply what was needed, as I grappled with sin and its hold over me, I would nevertheless approach the throne room of grace and the One who has the power to forgive! What a gracious and merciful God we serve, but never let us take Him for granted; He has moved mountains for His children and we owe Him our all! 

Regardless of where you may find yourself on this sometimes treacherous, rocky road to heaven, it is imperative that we drink from the living brook and we eat heavens manna along the way. We, like the Camel, may go without food and water for weeks but that is a dangerous approach to our journey. We have all been afforded the same opportunity and that is to freely drink from the “rivers of life” as often as we would! There are no tariffs to open the taps of God’s supply; the price has been paid in full, praise the name of Jesus Christ the Lord, my Lord and King!

“Idleness” is a land full of harmful lures; misguided commitment to worldly sustenance is another well laid deadly trap that many are lured into. Thank God that the Lord Jesus holds the office of “High Priest” and He makes intersession for all of His flock. With this objective in mind; to conform us into His image! He alone is worthy of all honour and for us to even slightly begin to resemble Him we must remain well-nourished with a well-balanced diet and from one source only, “THE WORD OF GOD!” This is where we receive Gods direction into our lives and then prayer is just as important; this is where we bear our hearts to our God and we then find grace to get through the trial of life! If we neglect either one of these instructions it will be to our own peril and soon the fatty deposits stored to sustain us will soon dry up, leaving us exhausted! It is all about the will of God for our lives and not our own wants! The sooner this reality captivates our minds and souls the happier we will be. The easier it will be to face the trial of life, for there are many trying tests along the way!

“Pharaoh’s dream has too often been my waking experience. My days of sloth have ruinously destroyed all that I had achieved in times of zealous industry; my seasons of coldness have frozen all the genial glow of my periods of fervency and enthusiasm; and my fits of worldliness have thrown me back from my advances in the divine life. I had need to beware of lean prayers, lean praises, lean duties, and lean experiences, for these will eat up the fat of my comfort and peace. If I neglect prayer for never so short a time, I lose all the spirituality to which I had attained; if I draw no fresh supplies from heaven, the old corn in my granary is soon consumed by the famine which rages in my soul. When the caterpillars of indifference, the cankerworms of worldliness, and the palmerworms of self-indulgence, lay my heart completely desolate, and make my soul to languish, all my former fruitfulness and growth in grace avails me nothing whatever. How anxious should I be to have no lean-fleshed days, no ill-favoured hours! If every day I journeyed towards the goal of my desires I should soon reach it, but backsliding leaves me still far off from the prize of my high calling, and robs me of the advances which I had so laboriously made. The only way in which all my days can be as the “fat kine,” is to feed them in the right meadow, to spend them with the Lord, in His service, in His company, in His fear, and in His way. Why should not every year be richer than the past, in love, and usefulness, and joy?-I am nearer the celestial hills, I have had more experience of my Lord, and should be more like Him. O Lord, keep far from me the curse of leanness of soul; let me not have to cry, “My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me!” but may I be well-fed and nourished in thy house, that I may praise thy name.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone