Drink Up

There's an old saying - You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

We chuckle at the idea - a cowboy (or girl!), weary from travel, miles still to go, finally makes it to a water source and the horse won't drink.

Maybe the water is rushing too fast. Maybe it tastes bad. Maybe the horse would rather roll around in the shallows than actually drink.

Anyone else thinking this sounds just like your kids?

I can coax and bribe and beg, but I can't get my daughter to eat most veggies. Or soup. Or casserole. I can't get her to swallow pills. Or wear 90% of the clothes in her closet.

Something can be so good for us, but if we aren't interested, it usually doesn't happen.

It's not just a kid problem. Grown-ups can be even more stubborn! The idea of growth & maturity (of any kind) can feel daunting, boring, unnecessary or just not at the top of the priority list.

This can be especially true in our spiritual life and growth. We know that investing in our spiritual walk will bring peace, joy, steadiness, perseverance, hope, wisdom and a whole host of other things.

It makes us feel better, do better, love better, listen better, serve better.

But sometimes, even with all the right tools and everything we need, we just... don't.

Psalm 23 - The Shepherd's Psalm

Psalm 23 is a text I turn to often. It's comforting. Encouraging. It's my go-to it when anxiety creeps up into my throat. It paints a beautiful picture of trust and rest when we live in relationship with God.

It says,

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

The Psalmist uses the imagery of a shepherd safely guiding his flock over rugged terrain, to a quiet spot with green grass and water, soothing the sharpest pangs of hunger, thirst and exhaustion.

Jesus is the shepherd in the imagery, and we are the sheep. He is everything we need, and we are so much better off when we stay in step with him. Except, so often we don't.

For dramatic effect, let's read Psalms 23 from the perspective of my kids:

The Lord is my shepherd -

What a wonderful comfort, but do my kids care? Right now, they don't even think they need me, and would much rather I didn't interfere unless they ask for help.

Honestly, they'd probably be thinking, I don't need a shepherd, I can figure this out on my own!

I lack nothing -

My kids have objectively everything they could possibly ever need or want, and more. They shouldn't feel like they lack anything. There is an over-abundance of everything from food to clothes to stuff.... so much stuff.

Still, the phrases I hear on repeat are I'm bored... I'm hungry... I don't have anything to wear... there's nothing to eat... there's nothing to do... can we go somewhere??

Isn't it ironic that my kids (and sometimes I, myself) can sometimes be convinced that we don't have enough? That we need more? That we deserve more? That we're not measuring up because we don't have enough... stuff?

He makes me lie down in green pastures -

I'm gonna be honest; I'd literally pay someone to let me relax in the grass on a lazy afternoon. Birds chirping. Butterflies dancing. Clouds rollin' on by. It sounds like heaven.

If I tried to make my kids lie in the grass, it'd last about a minute before I'd hear Why are we here? When are we leaving? This grass is itchy!

He leads me beside still waters -

While the idea of splashing around in a creek does sound amazing, and I know my kids would love it, we should read this line from the perspective of consuming the water rather than playing in it.

When a flock of sheep came up to water, it was to drink up, potentially after a long time without any water. The sheep in this Psalm lived in the rocky desert. There wasn't tons of green grass or streams of water - they roamed the land perpetually looking for grass, hoping there was a safe spot to quench their thirst.

They came to the water to relieve dehydration and refuel for the upcoming journey.

My kiddos would probably be a little less enthusiastic to drink up. I can hear them now... This water isn't cold enough. This water is too cold! It doesn't have any flavor... It tastes weird... Why do we have to drink water, I'm not even thirsty.

You get the picture.

We have a way of taking something good - really good - and focusing on all then negatives.

There is so much competing for our attention, and we lean into instant gratification to feel happy, calm, energized, and in control. It makes the good, steady work of the Christian life feel boring, unpleasant. Too much effort.

We're trading protein shakes for kool-aide and we wonder why we're not thriving.

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

We can lead ourselves to the feet of Jesus, and not experience his presence and power in our lives.

We are dying of thirst submerged in streams of living water.

Jesus had something to say about this. John chapter 7:37-39 says,

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

Notice Jesus says "come to me and drink." There's action in that command. It is the presence of Jesus that quenches our thirst; the Holy Spirit that pours into us. But we have to participate.

He calls us to a life much deeper and richer than an occasional dip into his springs of living water.

The Psalmist regularly talked about this. He understood what this deeper, richer life looked like, and how much he needed it.

Psalm 42 says, As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

Psalm 63 says, You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

Isn't it encouraging that in God's gentle goodness, he quietly reminds us that He is everything we need? He is our creator, sustainer and provider. He knows what we need better than we know ourselves!

The truth is, His presence helps us re-set and re-orient our perspective so that we have the ability to recognize that we truly lack nothing, because He is our shepherd.

If we would just drink up.