Dehydration isn’t a mystery. We know exactly how it happens: moisture leaves our bodies more quickly than we replenish it. This can happen slowly over time, or because of exertion and environmental extremes, we can dry out to dangerous levels rather quickly.
My son, Brennon, who recently ran the Honolulu Marathon, attests to the dehydrating effects of running i
n the heat: debilitating cramps, nausea, dizziness, and extreme fatigue.
While most of us aren’t running marathons in the tropics, much of what we experience in day-to-day life can leave us with soul-dehydration. We are dried out through:
- busyness — extended seasons without rest sap us to the core
- relational struggles — even brief tensions can wear us out, but prolonged relational strain can take a serious toll
- carrying others’ burdens — even positive care for people can eventually leave us depleted
- sickness — when our bodies are broken we are taxed in ways that are much more than just “physical”
- loss — grieving what we’ve actually lost or even the hope of “what could have been”
- pressures at work or school — when we don’t meet others’ expectations, frustrations soar and life can feel empty
- acting on addictive impulses — every negative choice reinforces the drying effects.
Any one of these can sap our energy, our creative juices, emotional stamina, or spiritual reserves. Cumulatively, they leave us cracked and dry, in desperate need of soul-hydration.
Into our parched reality, God spoke through his prophet, Isaiah…
Tell fearful souls, “Courage! Take heart! God is here, right here, on his way to put things right And redress all wrongs. He’s on his way! He’ll save you!”Blind eyes will be opened, deaf ears unstopped, Lame men and women will leap like deer, the voiceless break into song. Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness, streams flow in the desert.
Hot sands will become a cool oasis, thirsty ground a splashing fountain. Even lowly jackals will have water to drink, and barren grasslands flourish richly. Isaiah 35:4-7
I need God’s soul-hydration today — his steams flowing through the desert of my life. How about you?
How do you access God’s thirst-quenching streams when you feel at your driest? Post your thoughts below.
Unsolicited Hope 