“But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

-Jesus, John 4:14

If you’ve ever experienced dehydration, you know it is bad news…cramps, dizziness, headache, disorientation, lack of energy, etc. But what is surprising is how de-hydration just kind of slowly creeps up on you, even when you’re not thirsty.

To ward off dehydration, we are buying water like never before – spring water, distilled water, flavor enhanced water, vitamin water – not to mention all the nifty re-fillable bottles and containers available so we can drink on the go. It is estimated that the bottled water industry will soon have revenues topping $200 billion.

That’s a lot of water.

But mind you, dehydration doesn’t just happen to your body. It can also happen in your spirit. I dare say some of us are facing spiritual dehydration today. Our bodies may be fine, but spiritually we’ve dried up. This is also bad news.

How do you know if you’re spiritually de-hydrated? What does it feel like? Well, it isn’t an exact science but any of the following symptoms may indicate that you need spiritual re-hydration:

• Spiritual lethargy, or a loss of desire for fellowship with Jesus.

• Devotions (prayer, engagement with Scripture) are more of a grind than a delight.

• Fear and anxiety become more of an issue than usual.

• Less desire for Christian fellowship.

• Indifference towards people who are hurting.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of the symptoms of spiritual dehydration, but if any of them sound familiar, they may be warning signs that your spirit is dry and you need to take action.

And the good news is that a dehydrated spirit can always be rehydrated. By God’s grace, an empty spirit can be refilled and renewed no matter how parched it may be. One of the lessons of the Exodus story, for example, is that even in the harshest of places, in Jesus, there’s always an oasis nearby.

Friend, the grace of God flows deep and wide. What’s more, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be a reservoir of Living Water within those who trust Him.

So if you are suffering from a case of the Blahs, give yourself permission to hydrate. Take a moment right now to open your heart and drink in the grace of God. Take your time. Drink deeply. You’ll need to do it again later, but no worries, because as someone once said, “You never run out of God.”

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.