Living Water
I’ve been teaching my youngest daughter about the importance of daily time spent with God, in prayer and in His Word. I directed her attention to a devotional book and did the first one with her to set the stage.
The passage was Psalm 63:1 ESV
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Reflecting on thirst, I found it ironic that since this child’s birth, I have struggled with being hydrated. Not due to a lack of water available to me, but due to a lack of desire for it. I was the dutiful pregnant mother, slugging back the requisite ounces for my baby’s health. I continued to consume the water through the season of nursing her. But I went into a full state of hydro-rebellion after weaning. If I didn’t have to drink it, I wasn’t gonna. And you can’t make me. [Insert foot-stomping and arm-crossing here.]
Since then I have experienced the common ailments of mild dehydration: dry skin and hair, sleepiness/fatigue, sticky mouth and headaches. Socks leave an impression on my calves as my body tries to hold on to the water it has. My vision was even affected by it because my tears couldn’t lubricate my contact lenses adequately and I saw all things blurred. In many ways, these ailments seem normal to me now; I’ve almost grown accustomed to them. I don’t even really feel thirsty most of the time.
Interestingly, thirst is not considered a reliable gauge of dehydration.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve heard the debate over whether one should spend time with the Lord out of discipline, or to wait until we desire it… wait until we thirst for it.
Perhaps our thirst isn’t a reliable gauge of our need for Him.
We would never counsel a person to wait to drink until he experiences symptoms of dehydration. Even if the milder symptoms are tolerable, they are marks of unhealth and could readily become more serious. We know the devastating effects of severe dehydration: it ultimately culminates in death.
My disinclination to drinking water seems so silly. Worse, it’s also arrogant and presumptuous when this vital need is so difficult to obtain for huge people groups across the globe. Why will I not avail myself of water when it is the most basic, life-giving element for my health? Perhaps I assume it will always be there for me.
So, too, it is absurd to neglect the Living Water. When I fail to drink from it, I experience the spiritual ailments of a person Spirit-emaciated. The symptoms may become normative to me, but that doesn’t make them healthy. For health, for life, I must choose to drink deeply of Him.
So, yes, I’m contending that we should dedicate time to the Lord every day – even if we don’t thirst for it.
If we do, I suspect we’ll find the vibrancy of our lives restored: clear vision through God’s eyes, rest to quicken our weary souls, and a balm to smooth our rough exteriors. Its availability to us shouldn’t be taken for granted; there are many who are denied the liberty of openly worshipping and partaking of the treasure that is His Word.
Let us commune with Him, even if we find ourselves without thirst, and find our deepest needs quenched by this Living Water.
Very apt…
Very apt…
Very well said. I think I will keep drinking.
Very well said. I think I will keep drinking.
Very well said. I think I will keep drinking.
Very well said. I think I will keep drinking.
Great thoughts Kirsten. I am in a local CBS group, and a couple weeks ago the lesson was on hunger and thirsting for God. And ever since I’ve been thinking about how different my life would be if I really DID hunger to read God’s word the way I hunger to eat dinner after a long day or a snack after working out or something. Instead, so often I push time with Him to the side while I focus on the little things of daily life. Sometimes though, I wonder if I actually need to get into a routine of “feasting” on his word, and then maybe the hunger for it will grow. “They” say we are creatures of habit, and that if we eat at the same time every day, we will naturally be hungry at that time every day. Maybe I could apply the same principle to my time with God. If I was consistent enough to form a habit, maybe the acual HUNGER for time with him would increase. Now if only I could be disciplined enough to try out that theory… 🙂
Great thoughts Kirsten. I am in a local CBS group, and a couple weeks ago the lesson was on hunger and thirsting for God. And ever since I’ve been thinking about how different my life would be if I really DID hunger to read God’s word the way I hunger to eat dinner after a long day or a snack after working out or something. Instead, so often I push time with Him to the side while I focus on the little things of daily life. Sometimes though, I wonder if I actually need to get into a routine of “feasting” on his word, and then maybe the hunger for it will grow. “They” say we are creatures of habit, and that if we eat at the same time every day, we will naturally be hungry at that time every day. Maybe I could apply the same principle to my time with God. If I was consistent enough to form a habit, maybe the acual HUNGER for time with him would increase. Now if only I could be disciplined enough to try out that theory… 🙂
Great thoughts Kirsten. I am in a local CBS group, and a couple weeks ago the lesson was on hunger and thirsting for God. And ever since I’ve been thinking about how different my life would be if I really DID hunger to read God’s word the way I hunger to eat dinner after a long day or a snack after working out or something. Instead, so often I push time with Him to the side while I focus on the little things of daily life. Sometimes though, I wonder if I actually need to get into a routine of “feasting” on his word, and then maybe the hunger for it will grow. “They” say we are creatures of habit, and that if we eat at the same time every day, we will naturally be hungry at that time every day. Maybe I could apply the same principle to my time with God. If I was consistent enough to form a habit, maybe the acual HUNGER for time with him would increase. Now if only I could be disciplined enough to try out that theory… 🙂
Great thoughts Kirsten. I am in a local CBS group, and a couple weeks ago the lesson was on hunger and thirsting for God. And ever since I’ve been thinking about how different my life would be if I really DID hunger to read God’s word the way I hunger to eat dinner after a long day or a snack after working out or something. Instead, so often I push time with Him to the side while I focus on the little things of daily life. Sometimes though, I wonder if I actually need to get into a routine of “feasting” on his word, and then maybe the hunger for it will grow. “They” say we are creatures of habit, and that if we eat at the same time every day, we will naturally be hungry at that time every day. Maybe I could apply the same principle to my time with God. If I was consistent enough to form a habit, maybe the acual HUNGER for time with him would increase. Now if only I could be disciplined enough to try out that theory… 🙂
What a great word! I love your point about not waiting until we are thirsty to drink of the living water. So true. That’s why I spend time in the Word every day, whether I “feel” like it or not, and God has not let me down…every day He gives me new hope or new strength or new something from His Word. Well said friend!
What a great word! I love your point about not waiting until we are thirsty to drink of the living water. So true. That’s why I spend time in the Word every day, whether I “feel” like it or not, and God has not let me down…every day He gives me new hope or new strength or new something from His Word. Well said friend!
What a great word! I love your point about not waiting until we are thirsty to drink of the living water. So true. That’s why I spend time in the Word every day, whether I “feel” like it or not, and God has not let me down…every day He gives me new hope or new strength or new something from His Word. Well said friend!
You’re a great writer Kirsten! I appreciate your perspective!
You’re a great writer Kirsten! I appreciate your perspective!
You’re a great writer Kirsten! I appreciate your perspective!
Love this post! You said ‘Perhaps our thirst isn’t a reliable gauge of our need for Him’, and I think that is an amazing thought! I know that if I depended on my own thirst/feelings at times, I would have not been in the right place at the right time to hear him. For me there is a certain amount of discipline and sheer obedience that is required! Thanks for your words!
Love this post! You said ‘Perhaps our thirst isn’t a reliable gauge of our need for Him’, and I think that is an amazing thought! I know that if I depended on my own thirst/feelings at times, I would have not been in the right place at the right time to hear him. For me there is a certain amount of discipline and sheer obedience that is required! Thanks for your words!
Beautiful post, thank you for sharing.
Beautiful post, thank you for sharing.
Beautiful post, thank you for sharing.
Beautiful post, thank you for sharing.
Wow, Kirsten! What a powerful analogy that truly challenges my heart. This one will stay with me for a while…spurring me forward in HOW I spend time with Him.
Thank you!!
Wow, Kirsten! What a powerful analogy that truly challenges my heart. This one will stay with me for a while…spurring me forward in HOW I spend time with Him.
Thank you!!
Wow, Kirsten! What a powerful analogy that truly challenges my heart. This one will stay with me for a while…spurring me forward in HOW I spend time with Him.
Thank you!!
Wow, Kirsten! What a powerful analogy that truly challenges my heart. This one will stay with me for a while…spurring me forward in HOW I spend time with Him.
Thank you!!
You know, I can so identify with this. Whether we thirst or not — we drink because we are made for His living water.
So glad to stop by today and read your words here. Thanks for linking up to Write It, Girl.
You know, I can so identify with this. Whether we thirst or not — we drink because we are made for His living water.
So glad to stop by today and read your words here. Thanks for linking up to Write It, Girl.
Again, I leave a reply months after I first read this post. I have found myself coming back to this one again and again needing the encouragement, the reminder I find in your words. God uses your words to remind me continuously that I’m at my best when I drink in my Lord ~ I’m often overwhelmed these past months and to carve out time sit quietly at His feet is sometimes the thing I neglect. I know my deepest needs will only be quenched by the Living Water! I love that I can reread it when I need inspiration and to refocus.
Again, I leave a reply months after I first read this post. I have found myself coming back to this one again and again needing the encouragement, the reminder I find in your words. God uses your words to remind me continuously that I’m at my best when I drink in my Lord ~ I’m often overwhelmed these past months and to carve out time sit quietly at His feet is sometimes the thing I neglect. I know my deepest needs will only be quenched by the Living Water! I love that I can reread it when I need inspiration and to refocus.
Again, I leave a reply months after I first read this post. I have found myself coming back to this one again and again needing the encouragement, the reminder I find in your words. God uses your words to remind me continuously that I’m at my best when I drink in my Lord ~ I’m often overwhelmed these past months and to carve out time sit quietly at His feet is sometimes the thing I neglect. I know my deepest needs will only be quenched by the Living Water! I love that I can reread it when I need inspiration and to refocus.
Again, I leave a reply months after I first read this post. I have found myself coming back to this one again and again needing the encouragement, the reminder I find in your words. God uses your words to remind me continuously that I’m at my best when I drink in my Lord ~ I’m often overwhelmed these past months and to carve out time sit quietly at His feet is sometimes the thing I neglect. I know my deepest needs will only be quenched by the Living Water! I love that I can reread it when I need inspiration and to refocus.