Tag Archives: Living water

You can lead a horse to water…

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Maybe you saw the cute YouTube video of the horse that was hesitant to walk into the water. After a few unsuccessful tries to encourage the horse, the rider dismounted and gently and patiently led the horse slowly to the water’s edge. The horse put first one foot, then another into the water. Then it stomped its foot making big splashes. Seeming to enjoy this, the horse walked completely into the water, and delighted in making many more splashes!

 

A cousin of mine says she has experienced the same thing with her horses. She shares that horses are not so much afraid of water but hesitant because they don’t understand it. Once they get in the water, they will enjoy it so much they will lie down and roll, saddle and all, if you aren’t careful!

 

I’ve known a number of people who are hesitant to go into the water. I was too. When I was in college I took a class in Beginning Swimming. Then another in Intermediate, then Advanced, and finally a course in Life Saving. The more time I spent in the water, the more understanding I gained and the less hesitancy I had.

 

The saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” It seems to me that once the horse realizes how thirsty they are and the more gentle introduction they have, they become more interested in discovering how refreshing the water can be.

 

Think about people who are hesitant to come to the living water God offers. Our job is not to make people drink. But I think our job is to help them realize how thirsty they are and to provide them with the opportunity to experience the excitement that the living water of Jesus brings.

 

Does God quench your thirst in a most satisfied way?  When others see that your thirst is quenched by all God brings to your life,  they become more aware of their own thirst. Yes, coming to the water to drink is urgent. But we need to be gentle and patient as we help those around us overcome their hesitancy to enter the water.

 

The horse comes to the water because he trusts the trainer. What happens when others see that God is enough for us, as long as we have our football? God – and sports – is enough. God is enough as long as I can pay my bills. God – and my bike/car/(fill in the blank) – are enough.

 

Enjoy life. But make sure your own growing relationship with your Heavenly Father consumes your desires and quench your own thirst.  Over time others may come to understand the value of thirsting for the gospel hope that is evident in your own life.

 

Taste and see that the Lord is great. – Psalm 34:8

 

 

Thankful … for clean water!

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This morning – and any time I want – I turn on the faucet in the bathroom and retrieve a glass of clean water.  Likely, you did too. In fact, even the poorest of poor in our country have access to safe, clean water. That’s not the case across much of the world.

 

The month we lived in Bolivia, we were told the drinking water had to be filtered. We washed our fresh fruit and veggies and dishes in a mild bleach solution and then rinsed them with filtered water. You might think this a terrible and backward condition, but when we traveled just a few miles out of the city to visit friends we had met, we found most of the people did not have access to running water at all. No bathrooms or kitchen sinks. Just a rusty metal drum outside that is filled up with a hose from the water truck…if you had money to buy water.  Looking into the barrels, we quickly decided we would not want to drink from them. But many of the people we worked with suffered stomach ailments due to the parasites, germs and bacteria in their water supply. The truth is that safe water is a rare resource in many parts of the world.

 

I’m guessing you don’t know anyone who has suffered from dysentery, typhoid or cholera. And yet these are all common to families living in many parts of the world. Imagine a population more than twice the size of the United States. That is a low estimate of how many do not have access to clean water in the world. Here, I get a glass of clean water whenever I want, from my home or any public drinking fountain.

 

And so I find myself extremely thankful – for clean water. When you think about it, I imagine you are too.

 

Does being thankful make a difference? I think it does. Imagine saying a word of thanks every time you take a sip of refreshing, clean water. I think our hearts grow a size or two every time we give thanks. Giving thanks has a way of shutting down greedy and selfish thoughts. It breaks down negative thinking. Giving thanks puts us in a right relationship with God. Being thankful for one thing tends to lead us to give thanks for so much more, including each other.

 

Who knows? Being thankful for clean water may be the very thing that makes your New Year an especially rewarding one!

 

“For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” Mark 9:41

 

“But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14

 

 

Are You Drinking Enough?

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The popular adage is “drink eight glasses of water per day.” You may need more depending on your body, the amount of exercise you do, your condition. But it is clear: we need water, and plenty of it.

When we were in Bolivia I read that altitude affects the need for more water consumption. We were told to drink lots of water each day, which combined with the lack of public restrooms, became a stressor of its own! 🙂 Nonetheless, we were advised to drink water before we became thirsty. By the time your brain tells you that you are thirsty, your body is already suffering. And so we are all advised to drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated. This will increase our ability to think clearly and our stamina. Whether you are healthy or have Leukemia, your body requires plenty of water to make healthy blood cells.

The same is true of our spiritual thirst. If we wait until our soul is parched, our thinking becomes clouded and judgment impaired. In fact, if we wander long enough in the desert of our own thinking, we can lose our ability to find or even desire the ‘living water’ that Jesus freely offers.

Don’t wait until you feel thirsty to come to God. Drink regularly throughout the day. Drink without stopping. Be refreshed.

“Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
Revelation 22:17