Stay Hydrated!

 “...my soul thirsts for you.” (Psalm 63:1)

As a chaplain in a community of people where many are at high risk of serious complications from COVID, I am required to wear a mask when interacting with the people I serve. While I don’t love it, neither do I mind wearing the mask. Except when they serve liver and onions for lunch. Then I’m sorry I have to wear a mask because I’m confronted with my own bad breath.

One thing I have discovered is that I get thirsty when I wear a mask all day. I think it’s because I drink less water throughout the day. So at the end of the day, I find myself parched. I feel like I have to gulp down a couple of glasses of water.

Aaaah, so refreshing! It’s amazing how good water tastes when I’m thirsty.

Humans can survive a long time without food. But water, not so much. Water, it seems, is critical for our survival. Things get out of balance in our body quickly when we don’t drink enough water. Lack of water affects our kidneys, our heart, our muscles. 

I used to roll my eyes at people who carried around their water bottles and constantly refilled them throughout the day. Not anymore. 

Stay hydrated. It’s really important.

Thirst is a good metaphor for what happens to the soul. I’m not the first person to think so. My good friend David said it a long time ago: 

O God, you are my God, I seek you,
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

(Psalm 63:1)

I don’t know about you, but I find that my daily quiet times are like going to a well and drinking water that refreshes and renews my spirit. Conversely, on days when I skip my quiet time or neglect my prayer life, I feel out of sorts. My spirit is off-kilter a bit. At the end of such days, I realize that I have failed to tend to the most basic need of my soul: I have neglected my relationship with God.

The human soul is restless, longing to be filled. People are thirsty. Some look to quench their thirst by pursuing wealth, or by consolidating power, or by engaging in charitable work, or some other way. But there is only one way to quench the thirst of our soul. Rather, there is only one Person who can quench the thirst of our soul: Jesus.

To a woman who was thirsty because of circumstances in her life – some of her own choosing, some of which were imposed upon her by her culture and world – Jesus said, “Those who drink of the water I give them will never be thirsty. The water that I give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)

I agree with Jesus. That shouldn’t surprise you. Apart from Jesus, my soul never finds satisfaction for its thirst. When I turn to Jesus in faith, when I follow Jesus as my Lord, my soul is full. 

I do take issue with Jesus on one thing, though. Once I have drunk of the water that he gives to me, I find myself wanting more and more. So in that regard I remain thirsty.

Only, now I know where I can find the well that never dries up.

Stay hydrated, my friends!