“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…”
Isaiah 55:1a

Come to the Waters

As far as I know, I’ve never been truly dehydrated. I drink water throughout the day and other than some minor headaches that remind me to pour another glass, I’ve never experienced the severity that would land me in the hospital, hooked up to IVs to replenish my systems.

We don’t always know we are thirsty. We get busy and forget to drink water, or maybe we don’t particularly care for drinking water, and we can get completely depleted and end up hospitalized before we even know our need. Cells shrivel, and body processes slow or stop functioning completely.

Water is basic to the continuation of all life—and especially our spiritual life. Jesus, being our Creator, made us this way. When He tells us to “Come to the waters,” He wasn’t making a suggestion. He was saying, “I made you to need this!” And He wasn’t talking about H2O—He was telling us to continually replenish our spirits.

This is a well-covered topic in Scripture:

“For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring” (Isaiah 44:3).

“Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3).

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37).

We need the Living Waters, the Holy Spirit. Come and drink, and be healthy again. Come even when you don’t feel thirsty, and be filled and saturated, running over and overflowing. “’He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive…” (John 7:38-39a).

He invites us to come and drink. He longs to pour out His spirit on us, to fill us afresh. We aren’t meant to walk around dry and shriveled, barely functioning spiritually, or laid out flat on our backs because we are depleted and have nothing left—and don’t even know it. We were created to thirst for Him.

If life has sucked you dry, there is something you can do about it. Sit at His feet and talk it over with Him. He’s a good listener. Then ask Him to fill you with Living Water—Himself. 

“Jesus, we are desperate for You, even when we don’t realize it. We come today for fresh filling. We stand on Your promises for today, and for the future: ‘They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to the living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’ (Revelation 7:16-17). In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”