I spread out my hands to You; my soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah. Psalms 143:6 (NKJV)

Summer has arrived. The soil dries so quickly. Did I not water just yesterday? I did, but the soil bakes in the hot sun and wind. The leaves of thirsty plants hang limp, declaring their need for life-giving water.

We also need the life-giving water to keep our souls growing in Jesus.

Too often I have experienced drought in my soul, having skipped sometimes a day or even days of time with God. Like my thirsty plants, I exhibit the signs of being without the daily living water I need. Maybe you recognize these limp leaves: a bad attitude, a shorter temper, faulty decision-making, grumbling and complaining, a lack of peace. My sin blocks my communication with God, as Scripture states in Isaiah 59.

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you. Isaiah 59:2 (NKJV)

I return to the Lord, confessing my sin of complacency. I soak in the Word of God, my soul thirstier than even my driest plants. My conversations with my God begin again.

Sometimes I am over-whelmed by situations and I get discouraged. Like a partially plugged watering nozzle, only a little of God’s water seems to reach me. I don’t see God at work at that moment.

There is hope for me, as there is for you. We can dive into the Living water of Jesus. He will fill us. We need Him. He is our refuge. The Lord helps us and restores us as we worship Him. So let’s get into Scripture and sing along with the praise music.

Jesus carefully removes anything blocking us from His refreshing water for our souls. He tends to our needs.

Sometimes we might miss seeing Jesus because we don’t expect Him. Mary Magdalene was not expecting Jesus at the empty tomb and mistook him for the someone else. When Jesus said her name, she realized who He was, and that He knew her personally. (John 20:11–18)

The Samaritan woman at the well did not know who Jesus was at first, but her meeting with Jesus led to the woman coming to faith that He was the promised Messiah, called the Christ. In John chapter four, we learn that she was astonished that He, a Jew, would speak to her. The racial tensions between the two groups led to a hatred between the Jews and Samaritans for generations. The Samaritan woman asked Him why He, a Jew, would ask her, a Samaritan woman, for a drink. Jesus’ answer applies to her, but also to us today.

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water…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 4:10, 14 (ESV)

Jesus invites us to drink from the rivers of living water by believing in Him. May we believe, and may we seek daily refreshment by spending time with Him through reading Scripture and prayer. The gift of the Holy Spirit within us will flow, just as Jesus promised (John 7:37-39).

Dear Lord, Thank you for being the living water that fills my soul. May I be quick to come to you, daily. Amen.

###

Top photo of dry soil by Kelly on Pexels.com

Scriptures marked NKJV are taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION (NKJV): Scripture taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION®. Copyright© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptures marked ESV are taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (ESV): Scriptures taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION ® Copyright© 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.

____________________________

I hope the devotionals I share minister to your soul. There are more devotionals for you! His Broken Treasure is my 31-day devotional book!

Have you ever felt broken? Good news! God values you!

His Broken Treasure is a 31-Day companion devotional to the historical romance novel Murmur in the Mud Caves by Kathleen Denly.

His Broken Treasure helps take readers deeper into the themes of Kathleen Denly’s Murmur in the Mud Caves and remind them how treasured they are by the One who matters most. Designed to allow concurrent reading with Murmur in the Mud Caves, each section of His Broken Treasure is labeled with the chapter of the novel that it addresses. Reading this devotional will help you more easily recognize the beauty in God’s broken treasures.

#ChaparralHearts http://www.KathleenDenly.com

Both books are available in paperback and e-book formats at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and other vendors.