He waters the hills from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works. –Psalm 104:13 (NKJV)
So many times, while hiking in God’s wilderness, I have had the privilege and joy of drinking from the delicious cool waters God has poured down upon the hills from His streams in Heaven. As the earth is continually enriched by the fruit of His provisions, I too, always find myself refreshed and satisfied by His cool waters, especially on tough days.
Without this gracious provision of our Heavenly Father, long distance wilderness hiking would be impossible. Water is of such a critical necessity one would be an utter fool to launch out into the hills not knowing if there was water or not and where to find it. If one did not quickly realize his or her mistake and turn around, one could find him or herself in dire straits, possibly in need of rescue or even lose their life.
I have seriously suffered from thirst twice, once from foolishness and another time when water sources I had counted on were dry.
The time of foolishness was in the middle of the Great Smoky Mountains. I passed up a spring earlier because I did not want to hike the distance downhill to get to it, reasoning I still had enough water on me.
As the day went on, the heat rose into the high 80’s, the miles passed by, and I realized my gross error and serious plight. I had unnecessarily brought severe hardship upon myself and possibly placed myself in great jeopardy.
It is amazing how severe thirst affects you physically and mentally. Water is all you can think of. You would drink from a mudpuddle or worse if you could. Your tongue and mouth are dry as sand. Your lips begin to dry out. Your head is light. You dig around in some ravines looking for water under the rocks. You hammer on yourself repeatedly for your laziness and foolishness. You force yourself to keep moving by sheer will as it is the only possibility you have in finding water and relief.
Thankfully, I had the brains to eventually turn around and walk the miles back to the water source I passed by. It was one of the longest and unpleasant hikes of my life, but by God’s grace, He got me to water. I cannot express to you the joy it was to drink from God’s reviving waters in that cold spring.
Jesus told His disciples and He tells His gospel believers today, But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you. – John 14:26 (AMP)
Our Comforter, God the Spirit, is of such a critical necessity as we travel anywhere in this world. We would be a much bigger fool to launch out into our day not knowing our Comforter and living out our day following His map for our journey through life, whether in the wilderness or anywhere else in the world.
Severe thirst would be a walk in the park compared to foolishly jeopardizing our present spiritual well-being and eternal future with all the complexities that life in a broken world can and does bring across our path.
God not only pours out His provisions upon this earth, He also wants to pour them out upon His creatures through His Spirit. He genuinely wants to enrich our lives everywhere and in every way.
We must not foolishly and unnecessarily endanger any part of our-self as we journey through life. We must not pass up this spring of living water because we don’t want to exercise the disciple and surrender it takes to be filled and led by the Spirit, reasoning we have enough of our own resources on us.
You and I do not want to travel down years of our life’s journey only to find we have put ourselves spiritually in great jeopardy.
By God’s grace and mercy, we can always recognize that mistake and turn it around, but the cost will not be enjoyable. They could be the longest years of our life.
Faith Aids 