By HEATHER COFER
One evening recently I went out onto our front porch to water the hanging plants. I had forgotten to do it the day before, but figured they were probably okay. When I caught my first glimpse of them, I was somewhat surprised to see them looking dangerously wilted and dry. It’s only been one day, I thought to myself. How could they have dried out so quickly?
After watering the plants, I sat on our porch swing and thought about the spiritual correlation. How many times have I either consciously or subconsciously justified a day not “watered” with the Word of God, only to reap the effects of a parched soul? Greater susceptibility to irritation, impatience, discouragement, laziness … all because I wasn’t diligent to spend time in God’s Word that day, and fill my mind and heart with the Truth.
Just like one day’s plant watering doesn’t carry over to the next (well, at least not in dry, high altitude Colorado), neither does one day’s time in the Bible carry over to the next. This world is spiritually harsh and dry, and if we aren’t vigilant in spending time refreshing our souls by spending time with the Lord, it won’t take long for us to be badly affected.
Psalm 63:1 says, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.”
Often when someone is physically dehydrated, they don’t realize it until the symptoms become noticeably bad. But someone who is continually staying hydrated is more aware when their body is getting low on water. It’s similar in the spiritual sense, too. When we are spiritually dehydrated, we become more and more numb to our need to spend time in the Word until we start seeing the effects of it in our life. On the other hand, when we are continually quenching our spiritual thirst by spending time with Jesus and meditating on Scripture, we don’t even want to miss one opportunity to be with our Lord. The more we read the Word, the more we will want to read the Word.
It is only through Him that we have what we need to live out this Christian life. As Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” We need to live in the reality that seeking the Lord is what will keep us spiritually sharp and healthy, because it is what is pointing us to the One who gives us life! When we are diligent to seek God, He becomes the overwhelming desire of our heart. We spend time in His presence not only because we know we should, but because time with Him becomes the most precious thing in our lives.