The Pump at the Crossroads: When You’re Giving More Than You Have

John Claypool tells of a time in his life when he felt dry. He compared himself to a pump at the center of a crossroads. Every traveler stopped and pumped the handle to slake their thirst. He said, soon, so many had stopped that the pump ran dry.

Like the pump at the crossroads, growing demands drain us, leaving us unreplenished.

People work too hard, worry too much, and overcommit, leaving themselves empty. The last drop drips out.

Depletion crushes the spirit and destroys relationships.

The lamp, unreplenished, soon goes out.

How do you know?

Elijah stood at the mouth of a cave in 1 Kings 19. He found out he wasn’t bulletproof. He wanted God to take his life.

Some seethe while others explode over people they love.

Criticism becomes a bayonet to threaten.

Worship feels mechanical, easily missed until no one notices you are missing.

Screen time balloons as you seek to medicate yourself.

Recognize you’re empty and need refilling.

But how do we replenish a lamp that grows dim?

A man quizzed Lincoln with a riddle. If he had 30 minutes to cut down a tree, how would he do it? His answer was that he would spend 25 minutes sharpening the axe. I imagine he had a sharper axe as Gettysburg poured blood.

Time focused on building is not selfish but required.

In the middle of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus experiences a series of draining events.

His home synagogue at Nazareth turns its back on him.

Herod beheads his cousin and predecessor, John the Baptist. The news had to make him wince.

Five thousand hungry people filled the hillside. The hillside overflowed with 5000 people. Through a miracle, he feeds them.

And then, he disappears? Why is he gone?

He was empty.

He found a way to replenish.

“After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,” (Matthew 14:23, NIV)

He got away to pray for help. He spent alone time to gain perspective.  The whirlpool drags down an empty soul. You have to escape the whirlpool to gain strength.

The best way to avoid the “empty” moments is to refill.

A friend had a daughter with a new driver’s license. He told her to buy gas when the tank was half full. It fits with life as well.

Life’s habits keep the tank topped off.

Take care of your body. Sleep is essential. Fuel with the best foods and move in the sunshine. It’s how God made us.

Turn off the noise. Stop the flow of propagandizers giving their version of events of the day. The bombardment of ads, exceptions, and gloom will demolish the strongest. Turn it off.

Then, realize who you are and who you are not.

The psalmist said:

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10, NIV)

Act like an autumn leaf. Settle to the ground and stop trying to control the universe. Much of life is out of control. Do what you can and let God do the rest.

Keep asking yourself questions.

What habits drain your lamp faster than you can replenish it?

Do you believe God can refill your lamp, or are you trying to do it all yourself?

John Sanford remembers an old well that stood a few yards from his family’s home in New Hampshire. Its water was cold and clear and could slake thirst like no other on a hot day.

But time passed. New owners renovated the farmhouse, and the well became abandoned.

Years later, in a time of wistfulness, Sanford wanted a drink of that cold, clear water from the well. He went to the old house, unsealed the well, and lowered the bucket. He discovered that it was bone dry.

Old timers told him dozens of underground rivlets fed the well. As long as someone drew the water, openings formed for the rivlets to flow. But without use, the rivlets clogged with mud, and the water stopped.

When we stop drawing the water, the water stops flowing.

Remember, the lamp, unreplenished, soon runs dry.