Come thirsty!

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters…”  Isaiah 55:1a

When we’re really thirsty, nothing quenches, satisfies, and refreshes like water.  After an afternoon of yard work, an hour on the treadmill, or a hike in the woods, our body craves what it needs most:  water.

Think back to the last time you were hot and thirsty.  Did milk, a soft drink, or a cup of hot coffee offer any appeal?  Of course, not.   Our dehydrated body craves water alone to quench its thirst.  Nothing else will do.

I was jolted awake from a sound sleep last week by a painful charley horse in my calf muscle.  Like punching the accelerator to move from zero to sixty in ten seconds, the RPM’s on my pain meter spiked as I screamed out in pain…loudly.  If you’ve ever had a charley horse, you know it’s one of those paralyzing kinds of pain.  Do I point my toes and try to stretch it out, just try to be still, or massage the muscle with gusto.

Of course, my dear hubby was also startled awake and into action –experiencing it vicariously with me, as a good husband should.  The I’ll-fix-it part of his maleness kicked in, as he began to massage my calf and, thankfully, in a span of seconds-that-felt-like-hours (people always say that, but with a Charlie horse it’s more than a cliché), the pain subsided from a twelve on a scale of ten to around a four.  Still hurting, but no longer demanding that the neighbors next door know how much, I marveled at the blessing that comes when the pain abates.

Hurting not enough to scream but too much to sleep, I hauled myself out of bed and arrived early for my daily appointment with Jesus.  My calf was sore, aching dully, and I was even limping a little.  Our 16-year-old Luke, my sole fellow family member of the early riser’s club, joined me a bit later.  When I asked if I had awakened him with my screaming and shared about my hurting muscles, he wisely reminded me that muscle spasms and tightness are often the result of dehydration.  Then he cocked his head sidewise, raised one eyebrow, and allowed his blue eyes to looking penetrating and serious, as he asked in his best Dr. Luke voice, “Mom, have you been drinking enough water?”

“Of course, I have!” I responded a little too quickly, as I also quickly remembered meeting a friend for lunch the day before and forgoing my usual order of water with lemon for a diet soft drink, followed by at least one refill.  And I had felt so good about ordering the salad, too.

I wrinkled my nose and then returned to my Bible study.  Suddenly “come thirsty” had taken on a whole new meaning.  Just as a lack of water had caused my physical body to knot up, experience pain, and interrupt normal life, so also does discomfort and pain come when we are spiritually dehydrated.

If life has lost its color, relationships are strained, or you just feel out of sorts, perhaps you are spiritually dehydrated.  Rather than looking for a complex solution such as therapy or counseling, the first check should be –am I thirsty?  Have I neglected that daily drink from the well, the daily meeting with Jesus—our source of living water.

My prayer for today:

Jesus, I come to you thirsty.  Keep me thirsting for you.  Let my thirst for your Word never be quenched completely.  Just as I cannot drink all the water I need for the week on Sunday and then be set for the week, so I need to keep coming to you every single day for refilling.

As you pour into me, I pray that I would be filled to overflowing –and that your love and your truth would splash out on those all around me.  I cannot pour out of an empty pitcher.

Keep me spiritually hydrated.  Use those spiritual muscle spasms to remind me that I may be in need of a drink from the living water.

Thank you, Father, that your well never runs dry.

Copyright 2011 Laura Macfarlan