You know for me the whole Word of God is living water.  Like the 8 glasses of regular water, I need to keep my body hydrated every day, I need God’s Word every day to keep my spirit hydrated.  When your body gets dehydrated it is clear.  You get leg cramps and you can feel bad.  But when your spirit gets dehydrated it is subtler.

When I was a kid I was never dehydrated.  Everybody had a garden hose and if you got thirsty you got a drink.  As an adult, I got busy and found I did not take time for a drink of water and I got a lot of cramps.

The same was true of my spirit.  I knew who God was but I had gone so long without the Word I no longer realized I was thirsty.  I had found other things in the world to fill that thirst.  That is the bad thing about dehydration you can go so long that you do not realize you are thirsty until you are in trouble.

Thankfully the body sends me cramps that are horrible to remind me that I am not getting enough water, and because of the prayers of my parents, grandparent, wife, and others that I do not know the Holy Spirit reminded me at 52 years of age that I was thirsty for something more.  Now I stay hydrated.  Now with a prick at my heart, the Holy Spirit reminds me when my spirit needs the nourishment of Living Water, and quite frankly, like the leg cramps, I try to avoid that prick to the heart by staying in prayer and in Gods Word to stay hydrated.  I do not enjoy the pain of  dehydration; body or spirit.

Hydrate My Spirit – Isaiah 44

I thought about this stuff this morning and I went to the Word.  I first came to a passage in John, but I will get to that later.  Cross references in John took me to Isaiah.  The first was chapter 44.

I read this passage and was just moved.

Isaiah 44:3-5 (ESV) ³ For I will pour water on the thirsty land,

and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,

and my blessing on your descendants.

⁴ They shall spring up among the grass

like willows by flowing streams.

⁵ This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’

another will call on the name of Jacob,

and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’

and name himself by the name of Israel.”

Those first two verses reminded me that the land was cursed with the fall as well as we were, and God promises to pour out water on the land and His Spirit on Jacob’s offspring, and they shall shoot up like “willows by flowing streams.”  God equates the nourishment that we gain from the Holy Spirit to be like what the land gains from flowing water.  What a promise.  From chapter 44 I went to 55.

Hear that Your Soul May Live Isaiah 55:1-4

“Hear that your soul may live” (vs 3).  Just think about that for a second.  How can we hear this and not thirst for His Word?  He offers us life in every word.  I do not know about you but that blows my mind in just those few words then I read the rest of the passage.

Isaiah 55:1-3 (ESV) ¹ “Come, everyone who thirsts,

come to the waters;

and he who has no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without price.

² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,

and delight yourselves in rich food.

³ Incline your ear, and come to me;

hear, that your soul may live;

and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

my steadfast, sure love for David.

You know I have read this passage over and over.  Isaiah is one of my favorite books.  But this had not stuck with me until today.  Now I think about these words.  Why do we chase after the things of the World that do not satisfy when God offers the Word that assures life?  I get goose bumps as I ponder this.  He will give us life if we will believe in His Son; listen and obey. He will guide and strengthen us with living water.

The Lord Will Guide You Isaiah 58:11

The last passage from Isaiah is 58:11

Isaiah 58:11 (ESV) ¹¹ And the Lord will guide you continually

and satisfy your desire in scorched places

and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters do not fail.

He is with us always and He guides us and nourishes us with springs of water that will not fail.  I am so thankful for His Word and the gift I have of the indwelling Holy Spirit.  We need only believe in His Son.

Closing Thoughts

I look back at all these passages this morning and I am humbled by the gifts that God has given me.  I started in John this morning and the whole thing got rolling with John 7:37-39.  Jesus was at the Feast of Booths

John 7:37-39 (ESV) ³⁷ On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” ³⁹ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

In this moment, He explained that if we believed in Him we would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit promised in the scriptures, that would nourish our spirits and, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Why would we not want to drink up all that He offers us so that we might allow His living water to flow from us?

Prayer

Father, I pray Lord that I might always hold fast to your word and listen diligently for Your guidance and understanding.  Lord, I pray that I never go so long without Your Word that my thirst draws me to things of the world for satisfaction.  Let me always hold fast to you in prayer and study and it active sharing of my faith.  In Jesus name, I pray.  Amen.