“… The rebellious dwell in a dry land.” (Psalm 68:6)
Our appetite for God’s Word will never be any greater than our obedience to God. No one who is walking in disobedience is eager to get into the Word. The guilty soul experiences a desolation. The rich table that could be feeding one is left untouched. Here is the great tragedy of disobedience: it leaves us spiritually empty and barren.
Now there are many who know religious lingo well enough to mask their inner emptiness. They may still go to church and even climb a pulpit. But the word they speak is not the “hidden manna” that Christ gives the overcomer to eat. (Rev. 2:17) The Pharisees appeared outwardly righteous but the words they spoke did not ring with authority. Hypocrisy costs us the anointing.
We can’t give what we don’t have. If we are to feed others, we must be fed. But unless the Lord is our Shepherd, leading us in paths of righteousness, there are no green pastures to lie down in, there are no still waters to drink from.
The sheep follow their Shepherd, and goodness and mercy follow them all the days of their life. Their head is anointed and their cup is overflowing, even as His was. They have discovered the channel of blessing that kept the oil flowing into His life: “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (Hebrews 1:9)