Coke or Water?

This week I had the not-so-pleasant experience of dehydrating myself.   I had recognized the signs a few days prior to the painful side of dehydration, but I ignored them, because I wanted to drink a Coke, not water.   I love the sweet, fizzy flavor of most sodas, and the caffeine jolt is just what I need to get me through the afternoon blehs.   But, at 4:30 on Wednesday morning, I started kicking myself when I was jarred awake by my body screaming for water.  


In the Bible, the Holy Spirit is often referred to as "living water".   I have often thought about "living water" versus "still water", and I have heard many sermons, teachings, and scientific explanations of how living water is better than stagnant water.   There has been no greater illustration of this in my life than my previous cat, Glory.    I adopted her from the shelter when she was 1 year old, a beautiful long hair kitty, and with a name like Glory, how could I resist?    I brought her home, and I was startled the first morning when I was awoken by her screams from the bathroom.  I ran in there and found her in the bathtub, crying and crying.   It took me a few minutes, but I finally turned on the bathtub to a slight trickle.  She immediately started drinking from the water as it came out of the faucet as if she were completely dehydrated, which made no sense to me since there was a full bowl of fresh water just two steps away.    This began a long standing morning tradition of getting up and turning the bathtub on while I got ready for work. 

Of course, she would drink water from her bowl when I wasn't home, but as soon as I walked in the door, she refused.  She wanted "living water".     I think that we're wired the same way.    I'm not saying that we drink from bathtubs, but have you ever seen bottled "pond water"?    We buy bottles of "spring water", why?  Because it's clean!   And we need water.   I read this morning that a 10% drop in hydration can be fatal.   That doesn't seem like very much, but I'm telling you, after this week, I believe it!   But I think that that we need more than natural water. 

Confession:   Sometimes I drink cokes when I need the LIVING WATER.  

Sometimes I watch tv, when my spirit is crying out for some time in worship.  Sometimes I play games on my phone when I am needing to read the Word.   Sometimes I skip church and sleep in.  Sometimes, my spirit gets dehydrated.    In those times I am more easily swayed by my emotions, I get confused, I get tired, and my faith muscles cramp up, and it is painful (both for me and those around me).  

Now, I'm not talking about a checklist for "good Christians" here, nor am I saying that tv, games or sleeping in are wrong.   I'm talking about heart needs.   As a married woman, I need quality time with my husband, where we can stay connected and deepen our relationship.  If we don't spend that time, we start to drift apart, which can create all sorts of open doors to things that no one wants to walk through.   It's the same concept with God.   My heart needs to stay connected to Him.  He is love, peace, joy, life, and when I disconnect, I find myself withering in the wilderness of doubt and depression.    The signs are usually clear, so the question really becomes, "Will you listen?"    I can't promise that I always will, but I can tell you this - I never want to be dehydrated again.

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,  but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”  ~John 4:13-14