The grass needed watered again this morning. Record high temperatures and drought conditions play havoc with any lawn. We are blessed to have abundant water supply with rare times of mandated conservation. John Wayne was right in the movie, Red River, when he compliments San Saba’s plentiful water. It doesn’t take long before the wilted grass springs to new life with a little moisture.
Walking across the wilted lawn made me think about wilted souls. The constant pressure of the world, temptation of sin, and distraction of society can work havoc on the soul. Peter wrote, “Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day” (II Peter 2:8, NLT). The soul can become depressed and weak spiritually if left without care. Such was the conviction of the authors who compiled uplifting stories in the book entitled, Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Of course, it takes more than uplifting stories to renew the soul. Your soul needs living water. When Jesus encountered the woman at the well in John 4, her life was in a downward spiral with a history of poor choices, broken relationships, and a sense of being an outcast. But not from God. Jesus found her searching for water and offered her living water that would “spring up” in her soul. Nothing renews the soul like a fresh encounter with the living God. What she could not find in a well, she could find in the Lord. One senses this joy in David when he writes and says, “my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5).
How is your cup? How is your soul? Has the world brought you down so far that it is difficult to rise up? Do you need some living water springing up within?
One of the beauties of God becoming a man is that He understands our struggles. Yes, Jesus understands when the soul feels overwhelmed. As He faced the cross and knew His disciples would soon forsake Him, He entered a garden in deep distress so that He could pray. He asked them to pray, too, but they slept instead. He explained to His disciples, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:38). The coming events had burdened Him greatly to the point He was sweating intently, as though it were blood.
What did the Lord do when He needed strength in His soul? He found a place to pray. He met with His Father. He poured out His heart to the One who had sent Him. In His humanity He confessed that His soul was overwhelmed and then He went to the One who could strengthen Him.
A song often echoes in my heart. The melody gives life to the lyrics which read, “Where could I go? O, where could go? Seeking a refuge for my soul? Needing a friend to help me in the end. Where could I go but to the Lord?”