By Gina Caswell Kelly
For many years now, I have not been able to drink anything with caffeine in it. I have never been a coffee drinker, but I was a huge Dr Pepper drinker! So, my drink of choice was caffeine free Diet Dr Pepper. Then along came COVID, and for some reason, that drink could no longer be found. I had to go with the next best alternative, which was caffeine free Diet Coke. For years I told myself it was okay to continue to drink this chemical laden product, but finally, about three weeks ago, I decided to just quit. I am now a water drinker from sunup to sundown. Unfortunately, I don’t have a story of how miraculously better I feel, but I do know that drinking water has always been the best choice. I now have a water cup on my desk all the time. I drink from it all day, and refill it several times a day. I can’t just drink it in the morning and call it good. Or I can’t just wait until night time and take a big swig and quench an entire day’s thirst. I have to sip on it all day long.
Jesus, in talking to the woman at the well, said He would give her living water. The water of life. She misunderstood and thought she was going to have water that she could drink from once and all would be well. The truth is that many of us think that same way. We think reading God’s Word in the morning, and spending a little time with Him then is good enough to get us through the day. Or we think we’re opening our Bible at night when we can hardly keep our eyes open counts as spending time with God. Actually, we spend a lot of our days thirsty for God.
Much like we have to, as they say now, hydrate throughout the day, we need to also stay hydrated in God’s Word. We need to spend so much time with Him that we begin to look like Him in all we do. Taking that little drink in the morning or at night is not enough to change us into who He has planned us to be. I know we all have busy lives, but you can listen to the Bible while you drive. You can tune into Christian music stations for a little extra hydration. You can spend time with other Christians and look for opportunities to serve in your local church. Or you can find you a local church! All these things are hydration for your soul.
Next time you get a good drink of cold water on these hot days, be thankful to God for His gift of Living Water and stay hydrated in His Word and in spending time with Him. It will make a difference!
