Dry Seasons Pt. 2
Numbers 33:14
And they set out from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
In the previous devotional, I commented on the fact that the stomach flu has been running its course through our house and that I was awaiting my turn. Well, lo and behold, as soon as I finished putting pen to paper on that devotional, I walked inside, shut myself in the hall bathroom, and proceeded to fulfill my New Year’s Resolution of losing ten pounds! Simply put, I’ve just got the wrong blood type against the norovirus. Last time I had it, I ended up at the doctor’s office almost needing an IV because I couldn’t hold down water for over 48 hours. While this time around wasn’t as bad in that regard—praise God—I genuinely haven’t felt so desperately thirsty as I felt from the onset of symptoms at 5 p.m. till I sipped some water at 10 a.m. the next morning. Water was all I could think about. But at some point during that sleepless night, as my thirst grew and my energy further depleted, I thought of Christ on Golgotha’s cross, bleeding out his lifeblood in a way I can’t begin to fathom, crying out from the frailty of His human condition, “I thirst!” And that’s when it hit me: because of my Savior’s offering at Calvary, I’ll never know the first thing about being thirsty.
My wife encouraged me to read Philippians 4 today, and these words from Paul lifted my countenance tremendously: “I know how to be brought low, and I know to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.” See, friend, in Christ, not a single chapter of our lives can have this description written above it, ‘Where there was no water for the people to drink.’ We always have water in Him. “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink,” Christ proclaimed in John 7.
You might be feeling empty today, depleted of spiritual energy, but hold out your little cup to the Father and let Him fill it afresh. Let Him transfigure this Rephidim into an Elim as only His redemptive love can.