On New Year’s Eve in 2020, I took a walk on the Nashville Greenway. It was pretty cool that day and I didn’t intend to go very far so I didn’t bring water along. But it was a trail I had not been on before so my curiosity kept me going further and further to see what was around one bend after another. By the time I got back I was utterly exhausted. I took a drink but didn’t feel overly thirsty. Later that night as I was about to play a game with my family, I asked them if they thought it was cold in there. They said no. I then started to shake uncontrollably. Since that was a symptom of COVID 19, Sharon quickly got me out of there and drove me home. I had a fever for a couple of days and got tested for COVID but it was negative. Turns out I was suffering from dehydration and didn’t even know it.
We need to take care of our souls as well as our bodies. If we don’t, we will suffer from spiritual dehydration.
Soon after I moved from Chicago to Huntsville, I was in church hearing a lady talk about the woman at the whale. I was confused, so I asked, “You mean Jonah and the whale?” She said, “No, silly, the woman at the whale, not Jonah. And Jesus was there, too!” It took me awhile, but I eventually learned to understand southern talk, which included cutting out the vowel “i,” adding syllables to words like ambulance (ambulayance,) and changing my bub (bulb) and my o (oil). And don’t forget to put out that “far.” But to be fair, they had to learn my Yankee talk, too!
When the Samaritan woman met Jesus at the well, she perceived that he was a prophet, and immediately brought up the subject of where to worship:
“Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” (John 4:20).
If we’re not careful, we will limit our worship to where we go to church and miss out on what Jesus was trying to teach her…and us:
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father…But a time is coming, and even now has arrived, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” (vs. 21-23).
Jesus was offering her something much better than the water that was in that well: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 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.” (vs. 14).
We humans need food and water to stay alive and we need to worship God in spirit and truth to keep our faith alive. Striving to love him with all our heart and soul enables us to worship him in spirit, and loving him with all our mind and strength allows us to worship him in truth. The connection between our spirit and his Spirit produces the living water that quenches the deepest need of our souls. And seeking him and obeying his truth, which is found in scripture, is also a part of worship. This can be done all throughout the day with everything we do.
Are you thirsting for God right now? If not, taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8) and take a sip from his living water. It will keep you coming back for more!
“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38).
Dwell in His secret place 