Now is the time... To Water

Jesus said to her, “Whoever drinks ……of the water that I shall give will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:13,14

Today is quite hot and windy and we are in need of some good rain. Fortunately our garden is planted with native plants which tolerate dry conditions but even today some of these were bending their heads in a silent cry for water. I was happy to oblige, not wanting to lose them because of my lack of attention to their needs.

As I stood in the sunshine with the hose for an hour or so my thoughts went to my own spiritual life. I thought about how dry I can get when I don’t ‘water’ my spirit with time in God’s word. Bible reading feeds and nurtures our inner man, and we need to give regular time to reading it, just as we eat and drink to keep our bodies well nourished.

In my early years I did not like to drink water at all. It wasn’t until later in life that I began to drink enough water for my body to function properly. I found that once I had developed the habit of drinking regularly, my body would tell me, I would feel thirsty. Up until then my poor body had learned to adapt to a lack of water.

In the same way, unless we develop a ‘hunger’ for God’s word in our early years of following Jesus, we may not realise that we are spiritually dehydrated. Therefore it is important to develop good discipline in spending time quietly reading God’s word so that we grow in spiritual understanding and maturity. Then when we neglect this time our spirit will remind us that we need to go back to God’s word for more life-giving sustenance. During his 40 day fast in the wilderness the devil tried to tempt Jesus to turn stones into bread, Jesus reminded Satan that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4). Spiritual sustenance is just as important as food.

Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman (John 4:14) of ‘life-giving water’ that would spring up within the one who drank of it. This life is the life of Jesus within which we draw upon as we come to him through prayer and reading his word. We need to keep the life-flow going.

If you are feeling dry today perhaps you need to draw near to the well and draw some water to ‘drink’. If you are dry you will certainly have nothing to flow out of you to be a blessing to others. So come aside, spent time drawing water from Jesus’ well.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to recognise when I am spiritually dry. Let me be sensitive to the drawing of your Spirit and take time to refresh myself in your presence. Amen.