We all go through seasons we don’t expect. The ones we have no plan for. Unwanted seasons we must endure. Times when we are emotionally, physically, and spiritually down. They come whether we’d like them to or not because they’re just a part of life’s journey.
I don’t know about you, but when I am in one of those seasons for a while, I feel out of sorts. Even though I know it won’t last forever and that He will see me through, what is true doesn’t always stay at the forefront of my mind; knowing truths doesn’t always make it easier to wait and persevere.
In those times, we are in constant need of help, and sometimes help shows up in the most unexpected ways if we have an open heart to hear His voice. Recently, help showed up for me on a big brown box delivered by FedEx.
I love gardening, and though I always enjoy wandering through our local plant nurseries just as soon as spring starts to shine, I found out I could also buy plants online. After a lot of “window shopping” and researching, I placed my order and waited (the one downside of online plant ordering).
We came home one day to see a few brown boxes sitting by the door, which meant the plants had arrived! My husband gathered them up and put them up on the table so I could open them. The first thing I noticed were these instructions, right there on the side of the box in nice, big letters: Live plant inside. Please open me and give me a drink. It seemed obvious we would need to water our plants, but still the instructions were written out for us.
The plants were beautiful, and though on the outside I couldn’t tell at all that they were dry, they were ready for a good drink of water and soaked up every drop from my watering can.
It hit me in that moment. I am this plant. Live person here. Please care for me, help me, satisfy my thirst. In seasons that are particularly rough, oh, how I need the Living Water to fill me! I need His help. I thirst for Him, my constant Source that never runs dry. He, and only He, can refresh my soul.
I spread out my hand to you; I thirst for you like a parched land.
Psalm 143:6 (NIV)
I know we all have times when we are spiritually thirsty, when daily struggles and distractions can keep us from Him. We may not even realize how dehydrated we’ve become. We seem fine. We look fine. We think we are filling ourselves up, yet the insatiable thirst continues. We become parched and weak because there is no substitute for the refreshment only God can provide.
Christ has come to give us living water and to give it to us in abundance. The invitation is there, spelled out for us:
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.
John 7:38 (NIV)