The Thirstiest Animal
Do you know which animal is the thirstiest? I was surprised to discover that it is .... the dairy cow! But it makes perfect sense. A cow gives out a large amount of milk each day. Unless it takes in a lot of water, it won't have much liquid to give out.
If we want to be like the cow, having something to give that benefits others, we must first fill ourselves. The water is God's Word. To have something valuable to share with others, we must be in God's Word a lot. Not just reading but meditating, praying and applying.
When knowing God is our first priority, it is only natural that it will overflow to others. To take in and not give out, is being like the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea has no outlet. We need to be like the cow in that we both take in and give out to feed and bless others.
What makes the Dead Sea dead? Because it is all the time receiving, never giving out anything. Why is it that many Christians are cold? Because they are all the time receiving, never giving out anything.--Dwight L. Moody
Growing up on a farm, the cows drank from water troughs that were always full. They were made to refill automatically when the cows drank. God's Word is like that. It never runs out of encouragement, refreshment, insight, wisdom, etc. It never gets old or empty. It is living. We just need God to continually open our eyes and enlighten us.
...The God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4