I don’t like to drink water. I don’t know why, but it just feels like a chore to me. I’m aware of all the health benefits and its necessity in sustaining life and all that. But I’m still lucky if I get a glass of water in me.
The thing is, even though I don’t like drinking water, I still get thirsty. So my body has to trick me into getting liquids. It isn’t willing to be satisfied with my morning coffee, but since it knows water isn’t much of an option, I find myself craving everything from fruit to yogurt. I’ve gone all day longing for the unattainable perfect food, when what my body really wanted was a glass of water.
But how often do we do the same things to our spirits?
I’ve had times where I felt a restless boredom with life and it was so easy to watch a movie, pick up a book, call a friend, go shopping… anything to distract me and fill my time. All the while, what my spirit was really craving was the washing of the Word, the streams of deliverance, the river of Jesus’ presence.
Have you ever needed direction, so you ran around getting advice from every person you knew; when the real solution was to still your heart and hear the voice of the Lord? Have you ever been depressed and sought solace in sleep, in food, in music; when Jesus was just waiting to comfort you in His arms? Have you ever wanted to learn more about the Lord, so you bought the latest Christian best-seller; when Holy Spirit was longing to reveal Himself to you through your Bible?
The examples are endless, but I think you get my point. We are so quick to sell ourselves short and settle for good things that will temporarily meet the need, but in the long run just leave us empty again. We neglect what is necessary to sustain our souls (intimacy with the Father), and then wonder why we can’t seem to feel fulfilled. We are trying to satisfy our spiritual thirst with a piece of fruit, when Holy Spirit is offering us a glass of water.
I don’t want to get close enough to a snake to see its eyes. I hate snakes! Now, when I take Chester outside, I’m petrified that I’m going to step on a snake, especially when it’s dark. Whenever we get our own house, it needs to be in the city, surrounded by cement, with no wildlife or nature or any of that nasty stuff. I love the line in the movie “Madagascar” where one of the animals freaks out and exclaims, “Nature! It’s all over me! Get it off!” That’s totally my life motto.