Faith

Don’t Be So Thirsty

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I’m an avid water drinker. Like, I can get a gallon in pretty easily every day. Nothing quenches my thirst like water. However, if I let myself get thirsty enough and the first thing I see is a soda, that soda is finna be GOOOOOD to ME…even when I know water is so much better for my body. What I realized, is that if I always keep a bottle of water around, the urge to grab anything else is much less likely. The same goes for the well being of my spirit. Once I became aware of the effects of what I allow into my ear and eye gates, I knew I had to keep better guard of what I allowed to pass through those gates. I went on a pop-culture fast. I stopped listening to “secular” music (that “secular” debate is a whole separate conversation for a whole ‘nother time), I didn’t watch anything that was not a sermon or Jesus related, I deleted all my social media apps, and I basically started my own Christian library because 99% of the books I’ve bought or read in the past two years are scripture based. I needed an opportunity to purge my spirit of those things that are not like Christ, so that I could be filled with the things that are. Once I did start to gradually re-introduce non faith-based elements into my life, I started to notice that I couldn’t stomach as much of them anymore. Why? Because I was so filled with the good stuff, that the unhealthy stuff was no longer palatable.   Proverbs 4:23  says: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” 

I haven’t always done a very good job of guarding my heart. In retrospect, the period before I re-dedicated my life to Christ was a spiritual drought. Because of that drought, the little drops and sprinkles of the Word that I was getting, felt like rain showers.  I wasn’t filled with scripture, so Sundays were enough. I read my Bible here and there, but devotionals and daily meditation were not a part of my routine. I was so spiritually parched that any ole thing that resembled a “good word” quenched that thirst. Ironically enough, this drought saturated every area of my life. Instead of living a healthy, balanced, Holy spirit filled life, I was mired down by mediocrity. My relationships were wrong, my language was wrong, my mentality was wrong, it was ALL wrong. Since I wasn’t accustomed to being completely filled with what was right, it was easy to become tolerant and make room (with BEAUCOUP excuses) for what was wrong.

Luke 6:45 says “…out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks”. I recently heard someone say that when we are under pressure, what is in us is will inevitably come out of us. If we are filled with (No)Love and (No)Hip Hop antics and “Sex With Me” lyrics…well what do YOU think is going to come out when we’re faced with a confrontation with a “frenemy”, or caught up in the moment at bae’s house? Think about it, when you get sick and vomit you see the remnants of your meals, right? It is the same with what we ingest into our spirits. I no longer allow myself to get to the point where I’m so spiritually empty, that the bare minimum is enough. I am nowhere near perfect, but I’m grateful for the conviction of the Holy Spirit showing me that with Jesus, I truly never have to thirst again.

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