As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Psalm 42:1
As I am working to stay in shape for the next backpacking trip, I have pondered the idea of exposure and hydration. Just like how we have to be prepared for exposure and hydration on the trial, it is also vital to stay spiritual hydrated and protected against spiritual exposure in our daily lives.
On backpacking trips, we are exposed to the heat, cold, wind, rain, and bugs, among other things. As we experience these things, we learn how to be prepared and protect ourselves against them. We can put layers on in extreme cold and take layers off in extreme heat. We wear a rain jacket when it rains and put a rain fly over our belongings. We use bug spay. Constantly, we strive to be good stewards of our bodies, learning to be wise about when we may need to step in the shade and REST.
Hydration is one of the most key factors on the trail. We must proactively drink water to protect ourselves against dehydration and exhaustion. It keeps us our bodies going strong.
So how does this translate spiritually and in our daily lives?
Just like on the trail, we need to have our eyes open and alert to what we are being exposed to, spiritually. Today, we are all aware of needing to protect against the exposure of germs and viruses. But we must also be aware of the spiritual battle going on and the exposure of the enemy that seeks to steal, kill, and destroy.
In the midst of this battle against spiritual exposure, it is necessary for us to get in the shade, spiritually. We must be intentional about taking a break and hydrating ourselves by praying and filling ourselves with truth. If you are not doing regular devotions, this is such a good time to step into that practice and habit. It is so important to be spiritually hydrated, daily protecting ourselves with the truth of God's Word, daily taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and daily preparing ourselves with the Armor of God, ready to stand against exposure that seeks to rob us.
I encourage you to join me in the fight to stay spiritually hydrated. Join me in daily filling up with God's Word and quenching our spiritual thirst. May we all long after our heavenly Father as a deer pants for water.
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