Water

For years, it has been recommended that, each person should drink 6-8 glasses of water each day.  At my age, if I tried that, I’d be making hourly trips to the little boy’s room…not to mention, three times each night.  According to “verywell.com” there are signs that point to the fact that you may need more water.  Here are some of them.

#1, You may need to drink more water if…you are thirsty.  Hmmm.  I wouldn’t have thought of that…but…good to know.  Usually when I am thirsty I dig into a big bag of potato chips.  Maybe next time I’ll try a nice cup of coffee…hey there’s water in it.

#2, You may need to drink more water if…you have bad breath.  I wonder if that is what is going on with our dog.  Water…huh…yeah let’s try giving him some water…never given him water before…what could it hurt?

#3, You may need to drink more water if…you can’t think straight.  I did not know that…next time my wife asks me “what were you thinking?” I’ll simply say…”I think I should have a glass of water.”  Hey students, keep this in mind for math class…that way during your next big exam, you have every right to ask to go get a drink…it will help you think straight…plus if you are really thinking straight you could have a calculator hidden beneath the fountain, (bubbler for all of you Wisconsinites)…wait…that would be wrong…I must not be thinking straight…I’ll be right back...I'm going to go get a drink of water.

#4, You may need to drink more water if…you are sweating.  Ok…I may just need to wear a Camelbak on my back. I am a perpetual sweater…not the kind you wear…the kind that makes your face and armpits wet.

#5, You may need to drink more water if…it is hot outside.  Seriously?!…who’s the guy that wrote this stuff…perhaps he needs a glass of water…

#6, You may need to drink more water if…you are in the mountains.  This one I did not know.  I have learned however that you should not drink from the streams coming down from the mountains…unless you have iodine tablets or a filter system…can you say “beaver fever?”

#7, You may need to drink more water if…you have a fever.  My mom taught me this.  Although I always preferred my water in the form of 7up…it’s the same…trust me.

#8, You may need to drink more water if…ummm….how should I say this…ahh…coming out both…ummm…let’s just say, “beaver fever.”

#9, You may need to drink more water if…you are pregnant.  I have nothing to say here.

#10, You may need to drink more water if…you have run out of coffee…(I added that one).

Water is vital to our world in so many ways.  We cannot live more than three days without water.  Plants need water to grow.  Animals and insects and virtually all aspects of our lives and this world are affected by water.  Water is known as the universal solvent.  We use water to fill tiny latex balloons and smash our siblings with them, leaving big red welts on their backs until the victim grabs the garden hose and soaks anyone within reach with a volley of pressurized retaliation.

We also see water taking on a very important role in the scriptures.  God provides the Israelites with water on several occasions.  Twice from rocks on the ground…and once God changed bitter, nasty water into sweet water for the Israelites to drink.  The Israelites would not have made it those 40 years in the desert without God’s provisions of water.  Moses parted the red sea.  Jesus calmed the waves.  Jesus turned water into wine.  Elijah soaked his altar with water before the Lord consumed it with fire.  John baptized with water.  Jesus was baptized in water.

In John chapter 7, Jesus attends the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles.  It is the equivalent to our “Thanksgiving.”  On the final day of the feast, as the celebration is reaching its climax…Jesus stands in the midst of a crowd of people and he calls out…”If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink…whoever believes in me…will have streams of living water flowing from within him.”

Are you thirsty?  Maybe you need some water.  I will tell you this.  Too often have I tried to dig for myself, my own water source…a well…a cistern…a pond…a puddle…all of my efforts in life have left me dry…but Jesus has given me a living water.  When I find myself fully dependent upon him…I find myself fully satisfied in him.  Maybe you have been digging your own wells…looking for something to satisfy…yet have found yourself thirsty.  Jesus says that he is the only one who can take away your thirst.