It has been a grueling past month. I don’t know about you, but this month has felt both long and like a snap of the fingers all at the same time.

I used to say “busyness” a lot, but a simple realignment can correct a simple thought process from being worldly to Godly.

The busyness stemmed from trying to manage:
— my time
— my wife
— my schedule
— family
— friends
— birthdays
— meetings
— planning
— dinners
— events…

One of my extraordinary mentors—but honestly, friends—in such a simple moment of conversation, taught me a new way of living:
Live Fruitful, not just busy.

Busyness comes from reliance on our own actions, thoughts, planning, and procedures.

Fruitfulness comes from dependence on God and abiding only in Him.

This isn’t to say that we don’t co-labor with the Lord—
but it is to say we must be dependent on God in all moments, thoughts, and time.

It doesn’t mean we stop using our minds or the natural gifts He’s given us.
But our reliance must become a self-sacrifice—laying our goals, our ways, our thinking down at His feet.

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– The Heat –

What has been digging into my soul lately is the need for “soaking” in the Living Water.

I was drinking tea this evening, and as I did, I began to think about the process—
How tea becomes… “tea.”

From the flavoring of the water…
To the heat required to draw it out…
To the amount of time the ingredients must soak…

It hit me: our lives with God are just like the elements of a tea bag in water.

There are so many answers in our lives we would already have if we just soaked in God—
instead of briefly dipping our feet into His presence.

A tea bag doesn’t release its flavor or benefits
without some heated water and some soaking.

We, as men and women of God, are going to face the heat.
And that heat is going to bring out what’s really inside of us—whether we want it to or not.

The heat can come through suffering, trials, or the revealing of what’s hidden in our hearts.
But maybe, just maybe, the heat isn’t just to hurt you—it’s to heal you.

It’s to make us more like Jesus.

Pain. Loss. Conflict. Setbacks.
All of it—the heat—is forming us.

But only if, inside the heat, we begin to release what’s within…
and allow God to remake us from the inside out.

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– The Time –

Now… it’s not always up to us how long we need to remain in the heat.

Heat draws out the flavor.
But it’s time that draws out the purpose.

The time we spend soaking in the Living Water determines how deeply we discover our purpose.

So don’t rush it.
Don’t get frustrated in the process.

You feel called to the business world?
→ That’s going to take training, discipline, sacrifice, and faith.

You want to play professional sports?
→ Sweat, grit, focus, time.

You feel called to ministry?
→ That’ll require integrity, humility, and a lifestyle of discipline and obedience.

No matter what it is…
It. Takes. Time.

Don’t get jumpy.
Don’t try to leap out of the heat too soon.
Let God finish what He started in you.

Time is how we heal.
Time is how we’re shaped.
Time is what reveals our deepest wounds and prepares us to help others find the Healer.

And the only way to use time well is to abide in God,
so we can guide others to the life source we’ve found in Jesus.

In basic terms…
Love God, to love people.

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We need to soak in God more often.

We need to stay present in the heat of life—not escape it.
Because only through the process of abiding will our true purpose emerge.

So sit back.
Have some tea.
Don’t burn your tongue (like I do constantly 😅)…
And abide.

Abide in the God whose timing is better than yours.

Through Him,
Joseph III

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Reflective Question:

What area of your life have you been pulling the tea bag out too soon—refusing the heat or rushing the process—and how can you slow down and fully soak in God’s presence this week?