Jessica Albritton, Family Connections Minister LHBC
Psalm 63:1-4
1O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
Up to 60% of the human adult body is made up of water. Water is essential to the human body, it helps to regulate body temperature, protects internal organs, circulates oxygen throughout the body, lessens the burden on the kidneys and liver by flushing out waste products, and helps to dissolve minerals and nutrients making them accessible to the body. When you don’t get enough water you are more prone to dehydration which causes the brain tissue surrounding the skull to shrink and pull away triggering pain receptors causing a headache.
While there are over seventeen types of headaches, one of the most common headaches I experience are those caused by dehydration. I am the kind of person that will start working, get busy, and forget to do the most basic of things, such as drink water. One minute I am busy working away and the next I have a crippling headache and can’t remember the last time I took a sip of water. I think as Christians we often do the same with spiritual water.
In Psalm 63 David is writing and states his soul thirsts for God. This psalm paints the picture that all humans have for God. Just as our earthly bodies crave physical food and thirst for water, our spiritual bodies have a longing for our creator. When we spend time daily with the Lord in prayer and reading His word we are spiritually filled up. Like water to a parched tongue we are satisfied. God is so good and we should long to be with Him, He is the solution we long for, the answer we seek, the rest we desire. But often we allow life’s distractions to get in the way of all that. When we are spiritually tired, thirsty, and dried up we seek physical solutions. We eat better, drink more water, get more sleep and head to the gym for some exercise. And while those are all good things, they can never satisfy the spiritual emptiness we have when we neglect to spend time resting in God’s presence.
God’s love and goodness are better than anything else this life can offer. When we draw near to Him our soul is healthy and we are filled up. Without God our souls become weak and there is nothing in this life that can rectify it. Living life apart from God and His word leads to spiritual dehydration and ultimately a spiritual headache. Much like a physical headache, a spiritual headache can debilitate us. When we experience a dehydration headache water is what our body needs to recover. When we develop spiritual dehydration we must seek out the word of God, His spiritual water from the well that will never dry up!
Are you spiritually dried up today? Spend some time in the word and in prayer today. Ask God to fill your well!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Heavenly Father, thank you for being exactly what I need! Lord when I am spiritually parched you satisfy my thirst! God, when life gets hectic, help me to not look to physical solutions for my spiritual problem! Instead lead me to your word that is like water to my thirsty soul! In Jesus name, amen!
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
1 Thessalonians 4:1- Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.