Before I knew they existed, I saw the limping. Mild at first, the whincing became stumbling and the stumbling became pain. When the pain became obvious, we had to stop.
I lifted each paw to find the cause of the limping. I could see something like a small, gray stone, but with sharp barbs, piercing the paw. Camouflaged between his soft foot pads, it successfully punished my pooch for stepping unaware on the puncturevine growing in the desert ground. I carefully removed the weapon, armed with a new perspective for my path.
Dryness breeds damage. Also known in my new locale as goatheads, the small, rock-hard ammunition (seeds) of the puncturevine wounds the unaware passersby. After I ministered to my wounded canine companion, I discovered a collection of goatheads stuck in the soles of my shoes. I had been attacked without even knowing it! Eventually, I would’ve felt the pain. The sharp points insure that the seeds will spread and extend the reach of the vine.
It’s easy to be wounded by a thorn if you get too close to a thirsty soul.
We all have the potential to dry out. Instead of quenching our thirst with the Living Water and bearing sweet fruit and fragrant blossoms, we may, instead, harden our hearts and bear barbs to wound those around us. In our dried out outlook, we’re deceived into thinking we need to defend ourselves, conceal our arid condition, and protect our fragile state. Healthy growth happens when our thirst is quenched.
It was at the end of a celebration, when many spiritual sojourners were stepping on one another in their conversations. The religious leaders were right in the arid middle of it. Jesus cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink,”(John 7:37). Later, to the Samaritan woman facing her barbs with Jesus beside the community well, he said, “Everyone who drinks of 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,” (John 4:13, 14). Jesus is the daily, living water we need to thrive.
Dryness is dangerous. Fire danger grows and dust storms gather. Parched plants fear the foot that might crush them in their depleted state. Thirsty plants defend themselves against sojourners in a desperate to spread their influence. When we allow an arid way of life to become a normal way of life, we become dangerous to those around us and to those passing by. I don’t want to be the wounded, and I don’t want to be the wounder. We can easily begin to believe we’re too busy to drink. We can fall into thinking we’ve stored away water to last a long time. We may even believe we’re beyond needing a daily quenching. Thirsty souls are threatening.
- I may come across the dry and the dangerous.
- I may be wounded from unexpected barbs along my way.
- I may need to stop, pull out the barbs, and let healing begin.
- I must never believe I can go without regular quenching by the Living Water.
- I must drink deeply from the one who promises to raise up a well in those who drink.
Have you ever been damaged by a dry life?
In what ways will you come to the Living Water today to have your thirst satisfied?
