“Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14, NIV.

Jesus is the fountain of living water, and if we drink from that fountain daily, He will supply our spiritual needs. Not long ago, however, I had an experience that demonstrated the importance of drinking often and deeply from a literal water fountain as well!

I woke up one morning with a severe pain in my lower abdomen that persisted for more than an hour. When the pain became unbearable I went to the hospital’s emergency department. The doctor examined me and then left without comment. After a while I called one of the nurses to find out what was happening. The nurse told me that the doctor was trying to get the surgeon from the operating room to examine me and explain why I might need surgery.
 
The thought of surgery frightened me. When the doctor came back, I told him I was not prepared to have surgery, and asked to be discharged, since I was feeling better. Although concerned, he wrote up my discharge papers and gave me a prescription for painkilling tablets. He said if I continued to have pain I should return for a thorough examination and be prepared for possible surgery.

The following day I went to see a specialist in natural remedies who suggested that my problem could be with my bowels, because I had not been drinking very much water.

I started drinking six glasses of water daily. Shortly thereafter my pain gradually disappeared. I continued to drink six glasses of water every day since and have not had any more problems with pain in my abdomen. I was fortunate that the cure for my problem was so simple, since I realize that persistent abdominal pain can indicate serious problems that might indeed need surgery.

This incident has been an important object lesson to me. Just as we need to drink daily enough water to preserve our physical health, so we must continue to drink daily from the spiritual fountain to preserve our spiritual health. If the supply is insufficient, we will not experience the full spiritual benefits that we need.

Lord, help me to remember to drink six to eight glasses of water each day to keep my body healthy, and give me constant drinks of Your water of life so I won’t be spiritually thirsty either.

Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.