Spiritual Dehydration

I was lazy with my morning routine this week. I slept as long as I possibly could, raced to make myself presentable, then rushed to my first appointment each day. I skipped any "unessential" steps, including my morning devotional time with the Lord.

Yesterday, I was watching a Discovery Channel special about some guys on a hiking trip in the Grand Canyon that ran out of water. As the program narrator began describing the effects of dehydration on the physical body, I began thinking about spiritual dehydration, the effects of extended periods of time without spiritual nourishment, Living Water.

Early on, the effects of dehydration may or may not be noticeable. The first one is thrist. Your body notices it's gone without water and is in need. When I skip my morning time with the Lord, there's often something inside my spirit about mid-day that seems to whisper, "a few quiet moments with Jesus sure would be nice right about now." Another early effect of dehydration is fatigue and/or weakness. It's subtle at first. Spiritually, when I've gone without Living Water, instead of praying I find myself thinking things like, "I probably should pray about that ..." but often lacking the mental fortitude to actually do the work of praying.

As time passes without water, the effects of physical dehydration become more pronounced, just like the effects of spiritual dehydration. Not to be too graphic, but one of the symptoms of increasing dehydration is "reduced outputs." I believe that can easily be translated into the spiritual analogy as well. Without daily time spent meditating on Scripture and hearing from the Lord, the well from which I give and serve those around me soon runs dry and my life bears very little fruit.

In the final stages of physical dehydration, one experiences dim vision and confusion. Sad to say, this is what caught my attention as I was watching the program on the Discovery Channel yesterday. I was aware that I hadn't spent my regular time with the Lord in a number of days, but I had not yet connected the fact that I was having difficulty seeing and thinking clearly about things to the fact that I had not sought out His perspective. The further I get away from sitting at the Master's feet, the less I think on the things that are True and see clearly from an eternal mindset. My vision is dim and my thoughts are confused.

I once heard it said that if you skip your time with the Lord one day, He'll notice. If you skip it two days, you'll notice. Skip it three days, and everyone will notice!

What was even more amazing to me was listening to the survivors talk about finally getting to water and describing the sensation of literally having their bodies rehydrate, soaking in that precious, life-giving liquid. This morning, as I sat in my quiet place with God's Word in my hand and began studying what He had for me, what I'd been missing all week long, it truly was like taking a long, satisfying gulp of water to my soul. My thoughts began to move quickly through the possibilities of His plans for me. My spirit was lifted so that I was singing as I went about my day. And, I had something to say, something I wanted to share with others around me.