Stay Connected

My wife, Ana, recently bought a small pool for our dog’s yard. The weather is finally warming up, after a really cool spring, and the pool helps our puppies deal with the heat.

Ana used a hose to fill the pool with fresh cool water and Bella and Lilly had a wonderful time splashing in it all day. The next morning, however, Ana was surprised to find the pool totally empty. It didn’t seem possible the dogs could have splashed all that water out in such a short time, but she reconnected the hose and filled the pool again, much to the dog’s delight.

This morning, when Ana went to feed the dogs, she was surprised to find the pool empty again. We checked it for leaks, but it seemed fine. Feeling stumped as to what could be wrong, Ana started filling the pool again. That’s when it hit her!

She had been leaving one end of the hose in the pool after it was full and then disconnecting the other end, which was down the hill from the dog yard. The water was being siphoned off by the hose through the night. Mystery solved!

Do you ever feel like that pool? Every morning you get up and start the day with a refreshing drink from God’s Word. After drinking deeply from the “fresh, bubbling spring” Jesus spoke about in John 4 you go out filled with “living water”, ready to face the day.

Then life hits! Everything that can go wrong goes wrong! The car won’t start. The boss is a jerk. Bills need to be paid. The toilet overflows. Pretty soon, like the hose in the dog’s pool, the cares and frustrations of your everyday life have siphoned away the joy and hope you started the day with, leaving you dry and empty and ready to give up.

So, what’s the solution? Ana fixed the problem with the dog’s pool by pulling out the hose. However, that won’t work in our everyday lives. Bills will still need to be paid. Cars will still break down and toilets will overflow. Removing the hose is not an option, unless you decide to run off and be a hermit.

The only answer is to keep the hose connected to the Source. Filling up with “living water” in the morning is not enough. We need to stay connected to Jesus every moment of the day by lifting our hearts to Him in prayer, claiming His promises, and looking for His hand at work in the everyday things of life. If we do this we will never run dry and never thirst again.

This week, don’t let life siphon away your happiness, leaving you drained and empty. Instead, stay connected to Jesus. Drink deeply of the living water He provides and let it become in you “a fresh, bubbling spring within” flowing out in blessing on everyone you meet.