I try to drink water throughout the day. But when I’m sitting at my desk or just sitting around the house, it’s hard to make a regular practice of it. I know it’s good for me but most of the time it’s kind of bland and I sort of feel full anyways and I don’t really think that I need a drink.
But when I’m working hard or working out, and I’m sweating, water takes on an entirely different quality. I kid you not, it tastes sweeter! It’s the exact same water that I drink when I’m just sitting around, but now it’s like nectar. And it’s no longer a chore to make sure I’m drinking it. Instead, my body recognizes the need for it and I can guzzle and still want more.
Is a relationship with Jesus something that you have to ‘work at?’ Do you have to remind yourself, even force yourself, to pray, read Scripture, and be faithful throughout the day?
Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner! (Luke 18:10-13)
Do you recognize your need for Jesus? Do you thirst for Him? Prayer and Scripture and faith take on a whole new quality when you recognize your need for them. They become sweeter and you want more.
Today, recognize that you were a sinner destined for an eternity of weeping and gnashing of teeth until Jesus stepped in and offered you “new birth into a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3). Let Jesus give you Living Water.