"Joab sent messengers to David saying, "I have fought against Rabbah and taken it's water supply. Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it." (2 Samuel 12:27 NIV)
One of the ways the enemy obtains a foothold is by taking our water supply. We understand the basic principle that Joab applied: seize the water source and the population surrenders in three days or less.
What is the spiritual principle here? I circle back to this repeating theme of encouraging ourselves in the Lord. He is our source. Scripture tells us that He is the living water.
"Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." (John 4:10 NIV)
The enemy begins his capture by looking for ways to cut off our water supply. He gets us too busy to stop for a drink. He keeps us from friends that speak truth or services that strengthen our soul. He looks for opportunities to limit the flow of God through our frame: interruptions, distractions, addictions, anything at his disposal. He knows full well: if he can stop up our streams and fountains, he can destroy our establishment.
How can we guard against such nefarious activities?
We visit the well often, even camp there, if we can. We don’t allow any grass to grow on the path between us and God, but instead, we create strong irrigation habits. We keep our soul well-watered. We recognize our vulnerability in this critical area of life and we ask for God’s help in protecting our time with Him. We understand that we cannot survive without the living water He alone provides.
"My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken Me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." (Jeremiah 2:13 NIV)
"Lord, you are the hope of Israel, all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water." (Jeremiah 17:13 NIV)
One last thought on hydration. Our daughter has historically struggled to stay hydrated. Even as an infant, at the first sign of illness, she’d stop eating and drinking. As a teenager, we went to the doctor many times with minor afflictions made infinitely worse by dehydration. After her long bout with covid, both the pnuemologist and the cardiologist made it abundantly clear: dehydration exasperates a system and makes a body far more susceptible. If this is true of our physical man how much moreso spiritual man? We require living water. The less we partake, the more endangered we are.
Lord, today we recognize our deep need for spiritual hydration. Apart from You, things deteriorate quickly. Keep me, Lord, connected to my water source. Help me establish disciplines and give me a constant thirst for You. Nothing else will satisfy. Don’t let the enemy get between us. Amen.