SPIRITUAL DEHYDRATION
Feeling parched is a physical discomfort that makes us reach out for a drink to quench our thirst. But a parched soul that has been deprived of essential life-sustaining living water from God is a silent condition that can sneak up on us and take a toll on our spiritual wellbeing. The symptoms are much less visible and the discomfort can be brushed aside and relieved by substitutive cures.
We often don’t recognize spiritual dehydration whether it’s in the early or late stage. The symptoms are insidious because we can put them down to tiredness, the stress of life, or a difficult phase we are going through. A classic telltale sign of spiritual dehydration is when one gradually pulls away from everything and everyone. It can happen when we are facing a period of challenges or hardships that exceeds our capacity to cope. Intuitively, we unplug from God and deal with the realities that we can see on our own. We bear down and take time off to ‘find ourselves’ and away from God even though He alone can supply us with more than we ask or imagine. By doing so, we hope to fix the ‘leak’ or the part of us that is increasingly missing like the ability to laugh easily, having a confident direction in life and a reason to wake up each day. At the same time, we become increasingly worried, anxious and cynical.
We may turn to stress busting activities like cycling, trekking, running, binging on Netflix or going full-scale on social media platforms. For a while, we may succeed in numbing the pain of disappointment and discouragement inside, till the next setback causes us to fall apart again.
Frankly, there is no way to ease spiritual dehydration on our own, unplugged from God. Our spiritual body needs the ‘living water’ that God gives to all believers (John 7:38). No matter how feeble we feel, how frail our faith, or how much we feel like imposters on some days, we need to stay connected with Jesus always. There is simply no substitute for heading off spiritual dehydration.
Here’s a warning from Lynn Austin: Thirst is a symptom of need, the body’s way of telling me to take action. If I don’t listen, I end up dehydrated and all sorts of bad things happen, including loss of consciousness and death. Spiritual dryness is also a symptom: Something is wrong! Take action! I am drying up! I need God. My soul’s longing for God is as never-ending as my physical need for water. And spiritual dehydration leads to spiritual death.
Although not immediately visible, here are three discernible signs of spiritual dehydration:
LANGUAGE: When you begin to talk about your life and problems like it’s all about what you can do more than your trust in God’s sovereignty and wisdom, it is a sign that you are running on spiritual emptiness. In fact, you even sound convincing as you move to the beat of your own drum, relying on your intellect and ability to hack it. You are defensive and quick to give a pessimistic and negative spin on everything (you call it ‘reality’). If God is still in the picture, He is only a straw man and your relationship with Him is one that lacks intimacy and trust. Even your prayers begin to sound impersonal, formulaic, and circular instead of being prophetic and uplifting.
LETHARGY: Constantly looking at life with a negative filter has a way of sucking the joy out of anyone! Lethargy is not about living with a lack of activities but a lack of meaningful activities in your life. You avoid deeper conversations with others and prefer a passive attachment to your smart phone – browsing and surfing aimlessly, scrolling through text messages and photos, and cruising from church to church online. Your default position is defeat because you ‘let yourself go’ in surrender to circumstances and soon, spiritual inertia sets in.
LOSS: You are neither happy about a glass half empty or half full because you see either position as a loss. The present is just a continuum of the past and it is hard to see your life as overlapping episodes of renewal, rebirth of hope and a rebranding of your identity in Christ. Rather, everything appears as a long continuous bleak path with little surprises.
Listen, Jesus provided us with the wherewithal to reduce spiritual dehydration and malnutrition: Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (John 15:4). We all have the power to reverse the effects of spiritual dehydration!
What it means is that plugged in to the Vine (Jesus Himself), He will keep us from succumbing to heartaches and hardships. He is a source of hope, renewal and restoration that is greater than our stress.
Do you see spiritual dehydration in someone in your life? Or do you recognize some symptoms of negative language, lethargy and loss creeping up on yourself? Know that everything that your soul needs is within reach because Jesus is near.
Tap into His living water and stay hydrated – body, soul and spirit!
