Do you find yourself feeling dry – spiritually speaking? Do you even know what this means? In the same way we try to keep our body healthy, we need to tend to our soul.
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Psalm 42:1-2
I enjoy hiking on the Appalachian Trail. I remember a trip I once took up Holt’s Ledge in New Hampshire. It wasn’t very high – under 3000 feet. But, because of poor planning on my part, I ran out of water. To make matters worse, there were no springs ahead on the trail until I went up and over to the other side of the ledge.
It’s an awful thing when you know that you’re dehydrating. First you start to get light-headed. Then, every muscle in your body begins to cramp up. Just putting one foot in front of the other becomes agony.
In that situation there was only one thing I could do. I walked on with the realization that if I was going to survive, I must get to water. It was tough, but I eventually made it to a water source. I drank my fill, resupplied, and started to feel normal. Later, I vowed never to let that happen again.
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
John 7:37-38
This is a great promise to us. Jesus said that those who trust Him will have streams of living water on the inside. We have access to that life-giving river all the time. The question is, do we draw from it?
Many Christians foolishly live in spiritual “dehydration” every day of their life. They ignore the presence of God and wonder why their spiritual life is so cramped up. Why is every step so hard to take?
We need to keep our souls healthy. This requires the same daily care that we give to our bodies. Make sure that you don’t suffer from spiritual dehydration – run to the stream of the Lord each day for refreshment.
Refresh yourself right now by spending time in His presence. Fill your soul with the living water only Christ can provide.
Question: Have you ever gone through a dry spiritual season? What did you do to overcome it?
© Nick Zaccardi 2012
The Spirit and the Word 