Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK

“Plumb Full!”
“What the righteous desire will be granted.” – Proverbs 10:24b (NIV)

The Pastor of the Church I attended when I was going to college came from a long-line of preachers with his father being a former General Superintendent of the denomination, the highest office there is. With that as a backdrop, he was famous for bringing in evangelists or guest speakers on a regular basis, most of them people he had known over the years. I remember several of them very well and to this day, especially their words which impacted me during some very vulnerable and formative years.
One was a District Superintendent from Louisiana who was at the college for a meeting. The Pastor asked him to speak on a Sunday night, and in the context of his message he said: “Those who allow the Holy Spirit to take charge of their life—to be Sanctified through and through will find themselves to be ‘plumb full’ of God!”
Now, being a country boy (somewhat)—living in the Ozarks of Missouri for a spell, I was familiar with the phrase and had heard it a time or two and so I understood what he was saying and what it meant. However, not everyone in the audience quite caught what he had said and he had to go to explain a bit what that means. “A plumb,” he explained, “is a weight that is used determine the depth of something…so to be ‘plumb full’ means you are from "bottom to top" full. That, in my opinion is a perfect description of the result of trust in the life of the believer. And when I say trust, I mean deep-seated, whole-hearted, total and complete trust. The kind of trust Abraham displayed when he was called to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
By using the verse from Proverbs today, let us change the word righteous to that of spiritually-minded. Just as ‘evil’ and ‘non-spiritual’ are essentially the exact same thing—so is this, that a spiritually-minded person is a righteous person—one who understands and believes the truth. One who comprehends and accepts God’s will. Their mind is fixed on Christ, His Word, and His salvation, day by day, moment by moment. The reason why the spiritually-minded person’s desires are satisfied is because those desires are not based on or in selfish objects or objectives. They know the things of this earth are temporal (not permanent) and they are fully aware that for them to place their trust into anything other than God’s truth would tear down their foundation of their faith and their spirit should their trust be betrayed.
It would, however, be gravely naïve and wrong to think that the death of a loved one—especially a tragic one, or the loss of a home due to fire, tornado, etc. or any other tragedy would not hurt them deeply. It would and it does! I have been there. I know!
The difference is in the fact that if you are “plumb full” of God, there is little room for anything (or anyone) else to change your perspective or dedication to God. There is a depth to their understanding of God’s love and faithfulness. And…they know where to find reserves when life is dry!
Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ tells this story of a famous oil field called Yates Pool. During the depression this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Yates. Mr. Yates wasn’t able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch. With little money for clothes or food, his family (like many others) had to live on government subsidy.
Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills, he was no doubt greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills. Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well, and he signed a lease contract. At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large. In fact, 30 years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day. And Mr. Yates owned it all. The day he purchased the land he had received the oil and mineral rights. Yet, he’d been living on relief. A multimillionaire living in poverty.
Are the “desires of your heart” being fulfilled? What are they fixed upon? God truly wants to grant our desires—but can only do so when we know what they should be. Search for God’s wisdom and love from the “depths of your soul.” Get, “plumb full” of God, and He will give you strength and purpose for each day!
Pastor J. T. Carnell.