Quench Your Thirst

We are inundated daily, even hourly, with ads and appeals to satisfy our thirst with some form of beverage, whether energy, alcoholic, or carbonated.  There is much money to be made in the beverage industry and they spend ever-increasing dollars annually to entice customers to buy more of their products. Amazingly, the healthiest drink available is just plain water. And if you are willing to drink tap water, it's also the cheapest.

Because the same part of our brain controls both hunger and thirst, we often misinterpret signs of dehydration as signs of hunger. So if you find yourself mindlessly snacking throughout the day, try first  drinking water and waiting at least 20 minutes to monitor whether you still feel hungry.  The hydration may actually have been all that your body was craving.  

When I started taking better care of my body and providing it with proper hydration, I noticed less inflammation, clearer skin and a huge decrease in food cravings. If you Google "benefits of hydration," you'll get hundreds of reasons to increase your water intake!  Here's a sampling of some of those benefits according to an online article by Cary Orthopaedics:

• Promotes cardiovascular health
• Increases energy and brain function
• Helps joints and muscles function correctly
• Maximizes physical performance
• Cleanses your body
• Treats ailments

Who wouldn't want those aids to physical health? So I have been challenging myself to drink at least 96 ounces of water each day. I have a 32 ounce water bottle, which means my goal is to fill and empty it three times each day. If you prefer super cold water, just fill up your bottle before going to bed and pop it into the fridge.  If you like to have a bit of flavor in your water, then add some fruits such as lemon, lime, raspberries, or blueberries. Cucumber slices are also a great way to add a refreshing flavor to your water.

For me, it helps to pair my water consumption with other activities. That may mean making sure I'm drinking while I read my daily devotions, or grabbing my water when I take a reading break, taking a drink every time I turn a page. When I have to drive somewhere, I make a point of having my water bottle along. If you are traveling long distances on a highway, you could challenge yourself to take a sip every time you pass a mile marker (make sure there are gas stations or rest stops if you are just starting out as you may find pit stops are needed more frequently!).

If you've not been in the habit of drinking water, then start with a  few glasses and gradually increase.  The benefits of drinking more water serve as a great analogy for another type of water that Jesus talked about in the Gospel of John 4,  

"Jesus answered, 'If you knew the gift of God...you would have asked him and he would have given you living water....Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.' " John 4: 10, 13-14 (ESV)

If you have not been in the habit of seeking the Living Water daily, then start with a small goal. (A resource for those starting out was shared in the Firstfruits post.)  Or maybe you've already established a good habit of being in the Word but you want to try to stretch yourself further. As I thought about increasing my spiritual hydration, I came back to the idea of tithing: what if I gave the Lord 10% of my time?  I calculated  10% of 16 hours of wake time each day. Let's do the math:

16 hours x 60 minutes = 960 x 10% = 96 minutes

Could I commit 96 minutes of each day to offer back to the Lord?  That still leaves me with a whopping 864 minutes for other responsibilities!  Considering how pairing one habit with another can help make it consistent, I decided to correlate my 96 ounces of water with 96 minutes with the Lord to try to strengthen both habits. You might be thinking, "Where am I going to find 96 minutes in my day?" This is where your particular strengths, interests, or other commitments can come into play. You could:

• Listen to worship music while going for a walk or jog
• Pray out loud or read Scripture aloud while you nurse your infant
• Write encouraging notes to a shut-in or to someone recovering from COVID or surgery
• Visit, call or schedule a zoom meeting with a grieving friend to comfort and pray with them (a video call can be a huge encouragement during a time of isolation)
• Listen to Scripture or pray for others (with eyes open) during your commute to work
• Play a podcast of a sermon while doing some household tasks (cooking or laundry)
• Work on memorizing Scripture as a family

Jesus said the things we do for the least of these (clothing, feeding, visiting others) are acts done for him (Matthew 25:40). So acts of service can also be an offering to the Lord.  And if you need ideas for things to study, consider that we live in a time with unimaginable resources at our fingertips: podcasts, Bible apps, online Bible commentaries, sermons (Charles Spurgeon is a particular favorite of mine). We have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to written and audio material and yet we often choose to live spiritually dehydrated lives. 

If you truly think you have no time to spare, start tracking the number of minutes that you read a book, text friends, surf social media, or stream a program. How easily we make time for entertainment or relaxation while neglecting the very things that could bring life and health to our soul. Time spent with Jesus, the Living Water, can:

• Strengthen our heart (Psalm 31:24)
• Prepare our minds for action (1 Peter 1:13)
• Help the body [church] function properly (I Corinthians 12:12-14)
• Empower believers to serve (Acts 1:8) 
• Cleanse from sin (1 John 1:9)
• Restore our soul (Psalm 23:3)

If a visual reminder helps you stay focused on hydrating your body and soul, then print a copy of the "Every Drop Counts" pdf and try to get started on a challenge of your own or with your family.

Download "Every Drop Counts" pdf.

You can use the chart in one of two ways: either pick your target for the day (24, 48, 72, or 96) and just color that portion in when you complete it (top half for physical water, bottom half for Living). Or color each smaller step as you complete it, so that if you complete all 96 minutes and ounces, you'd have all 4 options completely colored in.  If you put the document in a sheet protector, you can use a dry erase marker on the sleeve and re-use the chart each day.

Let's encourage one another to do better in quenching not only our physical thirst but our spiritual one as well. Just as we often try to quench our physical thirst with less healthy things, we often try to quench our spiritual thirst with pursuits and habits that will never truly satisfy. As we increase our water hydration, the benefits will follow. And when we increase our spiritual hydration, those benefits will also follow. Remember that only the Living Water can truly quench our deepest thirsts.

Additional Resources: 

Need additional incentives to drink more water or looking for an app to help you in your devotional life? Check out these articles:

"12 Reasons to Drink More Water" by Unity Point--Fort Dodge (March 18, 2014)

"Crosswalk's Top 10 Devotional Apps Everyone Should Know About" (June 17, 2019)