Verse of the Day - Psalm 143:6

I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. ~ Psalm 143:6

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Things are really heating up here in the West these days. It was in the high '90s this past weekend, and has kept it up this week, as well. But when I picked up a friend from the airport who'd just been to Las Vegas, she said, "This is nothing compared to what I just came from!", where it was 105-106 degrees. I stopped at the airport gas station before picking her up and bought a couple of cold drinks. Boy, did that taste good -- talk about thirsty!

But what about soul thirst? How often do we experience that? How often are we so needy for God's love and presence and comfort that we just cry out to Him, for the Living Water of our souls?

It's so easy to live on the horizontal plane of this earthly realm. We go to work, we eat, we play, we sleep...and every 24 hours, we go around the wheel and do it again. But are we conscious of the spiritual realm, of our soul and the wheel it spins on? Are we even aware that our soul has a thirst? Daily living is insufficient to touch the deepest parts of who you are, that spiritual part of you that connects with God. Just living will not satisfy soul thirst. We must drink from the Source of soul water.

Here's a thought: Which is better? A garden that has a good timed sprinkler system, so that it gets watered regularly without flooding, or a garden that only gets watered sporadically when the owner realizes it's dying, and then overwaters the daylights out of it? Which one does your soul look like?

It's easy to spread our hands out to God and cry to Him for our soul thirst when we're going through tough times. Tough times really open our eyes to our need for Him. But what about when our earthly lives are rolling along pretty well? How often are we spreading our hands out to God in thirst? Probably not so much, I'm thinking. What we don't realize is that our soul garden is getting dryer and dryer, and more parched and more parched with each passing day that we don't seek Him and His living water. And then one day, we examine our spirit, and we realize what a wasteland it's become....Why did I wait so long to get spiritual water? What was I thinking?

I pray that you can purpose in your heart to go to God, the Source of Living Water, daily...just like you water your earthly garden every day during the hot summer days. Don't neglect your spiritual life, but keep it watered through consistent communication with your Father. Let Him fill your spirit daily with His power, His love, His comfort, His peace, His joy. That's spiritual water for our heart, mind and soul! And when we drink from Him regularly, we won't get thirsty.

Our spirits can be green and alive like a lush garden...or they can be dry and cracked like the dry, desert floor. Which one are you? If you are thirsty, go to Jesus, the Living Water...and then, stay there and keep your spirit alive and well-watered.

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." ~ Jesus, to the woman at the well, in John 4:13-14 (NIV)

Love,
Joelene