Men Have Only One Real Need—Here’s What It Is

Posted on Oct 07, 2021 Topic : Men's Christian Living, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Jerrad Lopes

This past year, my wife and I took on the dreaded task of moving homes. In some ways, moving in to a new house is exciting…that is, until you actually start lifting boxes and realize how stressful it is to pack and unpack years’ worth of belongings. Am I the only dad who wants to throw away every single toy my kid owns?

One of the things we were searching for in a new home was a bigger yard so the kids could get outside and play. It’s important for us not to have our kids staring at screens all day, and we wanted to make sure they had a big yard where they could explore. After months of exhausting house hunting and the painstaking process of being approved for a home loan, we finally found a place where we could settle in and put down roots. The main selling point of this particular home was the beautiful, oversized yard surrounded by arbor vitae trees that provided shade and privacy.

Just days after we had closed on the home, we had some friends over for pizza. We were anxious to show off our new place.

“Check out the backyard!” I said to my buddy with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I had never owned a home with such a nice yard, and I was pretty excited to flaunt my newly acquired outdoor kingdom.

As soon as we walked out the back door, he asked, “What’s up with the dead tree?”

“Dead tree?” I responded, a little taken aback. “Yeah, you’ve got a dead arbor vitae over there.”

Apparently I had still been in the honeymoon phase of the house‑ buying process and didn’t even notice the completely lifeless tree looking so pathetic in the long row of beautiful, healthy arbor vitae.

“Yikes, I’ll have to take care of that,” I said sheepishly.

Dead trees have a way of sticking out, especially when they are so close to healthy ones.

Listen to what the writer of Psalm 1 says:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away (verses1‑4).

Last week, one of the guys in our Dad Tired Family Leadership Program admitted that he feels like his life has no intentionality, that he just goes “wherever the wind blows.” I so appreciated his honesty. I mean, come on—how many guys can relate to that? Many of us men are running on fumes, just trying to survive the week.

Think about your own life for a minute. Would you say you’re like a healthy tree that’s producing good fruit, or more like the dead arbor vitae in my backyard, desperately in need of some lifegiving care?

I have good news for you, friend. Well, actually, Jesus has some good news for you:

Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14).

Here’s the thing. Your tired soul doesn’t need more lazy days, a better boss, more toys, or more money in the bank account. Your soul needs Jesus. He provides the water your soul is longing for.

And where do you find Jesus? In his Word. “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

My prayer for you is that as you become a man who dives in and meditates on the Word of God, your soul will be watered. That you won’t become like a tree whose leaves are withering, but instead will become a godly leader whose life produces much fruit.

May your soul drink of Jesus and never be thirsty again.