North Americans carry water bottles everywhere; they sip and gulp through the day, aware that research demonstrates the harm--from temporary to lethal--that dehydration can produce in the body.
The results of spiritual dehydration can be easier to downplay or avoid on a daily basis, but the lack of Living Water in one’s life is just as serious as a physical lack of fluids. Spiritual dehydration can come on gradually, prompted by intense life situations, over-commitment that leads to emotional exhaustion, a season of questioning God or one’s relationship to him, or a dullness of spirit that’s absent of joy and hope.
Any of these scenarios can dishearten your intentional pursuit of God and spiritual health. It can dampen your interest in prayer, dilute your time to soak in and meditate on Scripture, and cause you to lose interest in spending time with God and other Christians.
Understanding our need for spiritual hydration, Jesus purposely identified himself as the Living Water. He personally is our source of spiritual refreshing and vitality. If getting enough water for your body can be neglected, how much easier is it to delay, forget, ignore, or minimize the need to drink from Jesus and his Word.
Jesus invites us to maintain a vibrant healthy spiritual life by regularly filling up at the source: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38, ESV).
Resources:
Burrow into Scripture using an NCF Bible study
Get intimate with God with these devotional readings
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