Drink Up

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

New International Version (NIV)
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

I was away from home for three days. During that time, three short days, no one was tending my garden.  The sun was shining every day and by the time I returned my flowers were wilted; one of them appeared so dried and shriveled I thought there was no hope to revive and restore it to the life and beauty of three days ago. It seemed the only recourse was to uproot it and toss it in the trash.

Aren't there days when we too, feel shriveled up?  Aren't there days when the intense heat of living has beaten down on us so long we say we can't take much more? Aren't there times we fear that without a break from life's oppression we will give in? 

Our scripture verses today point to our hope. These lines provide a hope and a new way to look at ourselves and our troubles. "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."  

When I saw my wilted plants, I did not toss them out, I grabbed the hose and gave them a deep drink of water.  This morning I can see life begin to revive the wilted stems.  I know that if I continue to give them refreshment, they will be restored. They will even be stronger.

Isn't this how God helps us too?  God, our Living Water, breathes new life into our dried up hearts. We may appear to be finished until we take a deep drink from this well of Living Water.

2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10