At The Well: Quenching a Thirsty Soul

   Today the topic At The Well (click on link) is The All-Sufficient One and the questions asked are, "In what areas of your life are you not allowing God to be your Soul Provider, the All-Sufficient One? What problems do you need to hand over to Him? Do you find yourself in a place of weakness right now? Is your soul thirsty?"
     These are questions that deeply touch my soul.  Like a skillful doctor probing for the answer to what is causing the pain that you're experiencing, these questions probe your soul for dry patches and dehydration--and the answers to why your soul is thirsty. Like physical dehydration, it only takes a little "under-hydrating" to produce "dehydration" of your soul.
     Is my soul thirsty? Yes, and here's why:

• I haven't this past week disciplined myself to study God's Word and pray every morning. (Psalm 119:16--"I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word." Psalm 1:1-2--"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.")
• I haven't been disciplining myself recently and have turned to food and other outside sources to make me "happy", fill my loneliness, soothe my nerves, etc. (Colossians 3:2--"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.")
• I haven't been as firm with my mind and instead of taking my thoughts captive to the Lord and turning to Him in prayer, I have begun to worry and fret about future events over which I have no control (2 Corinthians 10:4-5--"(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.")
• I am under spiritual attack. My husband and I will be attending a marriage conference/couples retreat this weekend and satan is buffeting our souls to make us unprepared soil for the seeds of change and renewal which will certainly be planted in the garden of our marriage.
• Due to lack of discipline and obedience to His promptings, I feel guilty and discouraged. (Psalm 90:8--"Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance." 1 John 1:9--"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.")
• I have neglected drinking in deeply from God's Word lately and have not claimed the promises and victory that are mine. (2 Cor. 2:14--"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place.")

     The diagnosis:  I am dry and thirsty.  The prescription:  I need to spend time in His Word and let the water of the Word cleanse me; I need to confess my sins, (Ps. 32:5--"I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin"), forsake the idols which have robbed God of my time and attention, and turn over to Him the future unknowns (of loved ones dying without Christ, whether and to whom my children will marry, and where the money will come from for all the house repairs), (Philippians 4:6-7--"Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus"), believing in Him, trusting Him, and relying on Him. (Ps. 4:5--"Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.") 

Psalm 42:1-2, 5--"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?  Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance."