Are You Flowing or Stagnant?

We’ve had an insane amount of water lately due to all the rain in our area. Unfortunately, heavy rains and debris caused our culvert at the end of our drive to get clogged. Subsequently, this caused water to back up and become stagnant in a ditch/creek bed in our yard. After a while, the stagnant water started to smell and accumulate algae, mosquitos, and even a moderately-sized alligator snapping turtle. We could see that it was going to be a major problem if we didn’t get the water flowing again soon.

Looking back through my old journal entries, I saw a page where I that I had labeled “Flowing not Stagnant” at the top. On the page I had written myself a note of how I should be like a river of living water flowing and not stagnant, stale, or still. I had then listed some of the problems with stagnant water.

Thinking back, I remember that when I wrote that I was kind of in a state of sitting around and not doing much spiritually…not a lot of growth, not a lot forward motion or of stepping out of my current comfort zone. Honestly, I was in a place of sitting still, stewing, and complaining. I was starting to get kind of nasty and gross, a lot like stagnant water. I felt that God was impressing upon me that I needed to get moving and stop sitting spiritually idle.

Stagnant water, stagnant spirituality, and the effects

Water stagnation occurs when water stops flowing and can actually become a major hazard. Stagnant water is gross! It starts to get cloudy, discolored, stinky, grow bacteria, and makes a feeding and breeding ground for bugs and parasites. Yuck!

We can become stagnant spiritually too with some similar effects. Things can start to become cloudy and unclear when we become stagnant. We need constant clarification. Answers and direction don’t always come easy in this state. Things can also become somewhat discolored and appear abnormal when we become stagnant. We can sometimes get a sense that something just doesn’t look right or isn’t the same.

Stagnancy also promotes bacteria growth which can be a spiritual parallel for things become infested and infected, almost as if we are spiritually sick. Stagnancy can lead to atrophy, and parts of our spiritual growth and life can weaken and die. When we are spiritually stagnant, it can also lead to a nasty stench to God’s nose.

“…These people are a stench in my nostrils, an acrid smell that never goes away.” Isaiah 65:5b (NLT)

Additionally, just like stagnant water attracts bugs and parasites (and apparently snapping turtles!), a stagnant spirit will also invite in unwanted intruders. Spiritual stagnancy invites apathy, negative attitudes, un-Christlike and sinful actions, and even Satan (I guess he’s like the snapping turtle!).

God does NOT want us to become spiritually stagnant!

“It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good or evil!’” Zephaniah 1:12 (NASB)

“You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit.” Revelation 3:16 (MSG)

Spiritual stagnancy invites apathy, negative attitudes, un-Christlike and sinful actions, and even Satan.

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Flowing is better

Flowing water makes stagnant water fresh and pure. Similarly, when we start flowing spiritually, it will purify and clean up the negative effects of stagnancy.

“Then he said to me, “This river flows east through the desert into the valley of the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will make the salty waters of the Dead Sea fresh and pure.” Ezekiel 47:8 (NLT)

“He said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and flow down into the Arabah; when they enter the Dead Sea, where the sea is stagnant, the waters become fresh.” Ezekiel 47:8 (NET)

God wants us to be flowing, for our own benefit and for the benefit of others. “Flowing” is a positive thing!

“The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have rivers of living water flowing from his heart.”  John 7:38 (ISV)

“The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.” Isaiah 58:11 (NLT)

“But no one who drinks the water I give will ever be thirsty again. The water I give will become in that person a flowing fountain that gives eternal life.” John 4:14 (CEV)

“You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.” Song of Solomon 4:15 (NIV)

If we have any spiritual stagnancy in our lives, it’s time to get flowing!

Take Some Practice Steps to Start Flowing Spiritually and Stop Being Stagnant:

• First, self-evaluate: Are you stagnant? Do you display any of the effects or symptoms of stagnancy? Then, remove whatever is causing the stagnation.

Check for “clogs” that would make you stagnant or keep water from flowing freely. Read this post about doing just that…Is It Time to do Some Spiritual Plumbing?

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)

• Secondly, get your flow from God.

You don’t have to be “flowing” of your own accord. You are merely a channel through which God can flow. God can cause you to flow and gush forth again.

“You caused the springs and streams to gush forth, and you dried up rivers that never run dry.” Psalm 74:15 (NLT)

• Then, when you get your flow from God, you can use what comes through you to flow out of you as well. In other words, pay it forward.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

• Next, get active and purposeful. Flowing means moving. Go! Don’t stand still. Get to flowing and keep it up!

Scriptures states that you should be flowing rivers of LIVING water, not dead water! Not gross, nasty stagnant water. You should be flowing, not unmoving or standing still. Flowing means active and requires purposeful activity.

“The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have rivers of living water flowing from his heart.”  John 7:38 (ISV)

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 (NLT)

“And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” Mark 16:15 (NLT)

“When we were at Mount Sinai, the LORD our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough. It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills, the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River. Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’” Deuteronomy 1:6-8 (NLT)

• Finally, get busy flowing the good stuff—the fruit of the Spirit!

You should be flowing love, flowing comfort, flowing wisdom, flowing peace. Basically, you need to be flowing every fruit of the spirit…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

You need to be actively flowing with the fruits of the spirit. You should be…

-Showing love even when it’s hard

-Having joy even when things look bleak

-Having peace in the midst of trouble

-Showing patience and withholding any natural tendencies of anger or hastiness

-Being kind even when it’s undeserved

-Displaying goodness and generosity through selfless acts, aiming to do no harm

-Having faith and trust contrary to any tendencies of disbelief and doubt

-Being gentle when it’s easier to react harshly, and

-Maintaining self-control when it fights against every natural instinct you have to act or react otherwise.

How can you tell if you are stagnant or flowing? Have you noticed a difference in your life between the two? Tell us about it by leaving a comment below. You never know who you could help!

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If you know anyone that could benefit from this, please pay it forward!  Share this post via the sharing links below.  “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)