Fasting is one of those disciplines that I’ve wanted to grow in for a while. And I got a chance to in Africa for quite a few days in a row. At the beginning of that fast, I was very focused on getting enough water. Especially in the intense African sun, I knew I would dehydrate quickly.
If you’ve fasted for any amount of time you know that your mouth has a tendency to water throughout the day. As if your body is saying, “Hey, just so you know, we usually have food at around this time everyday and we haven’t had any yet. Eating sounds like a great idea!” However, instead of eating during this time, I used it to remind myself to drink water. Needless to say, that worked pretty well in keeping me hydrated. But it didn’t change the discomfort that came with the mouth-watering.
One day during the fast, I decided to go to the grocery store with my team. And as we wrapped up our time there, I saw a pack of gum. But this wasn’t just any pack of gum. It was a pack of spearmint 5 Gum; which is my favorite! So obviously, I got three packs. Yikes! And the next day I had already finished a pack. Yikes! Any time I felt my mouth watering, I popped a piece of gum in. However, as I found out at the end of the day, I was very dehydrated. My lips and mouth were dry and my urine was a dark yellow. As I sat to process why I was so dehydrated, God revealed something to me:
“This is the first day on the fast that I’ve felt dehydrated to this extent. I wonder what changed.”
“What happened yesterday?”
“We went to visit a woman and hear about her ministry, we went to the market, I got some gum…”
“How was the gum? Spearmint 5 gum, right?”
“Yeah, it was SO good! I want another piece.”
“Are you going to have another?”
“No, unfortunately, it’s gone.”
“You finished the whole pack?”
“Yeah…”
“How’d that happen?”
“Ya know, I’m not sure. I guess I would just pop another piece every time I finished one.”
“Why do you think you did that?”
“Hmmm… I guess it was because my mouth was watering so much. I hate that feeling!”
“Yeah, but what is that feeling telling you? And was it important?”
“Maybe it was telling me that I was thirsty and that’s why I’m so dehydrated! Wow, I simply blocked out that warning sign from my body. It was still there telling me I needed water, but I didn’t realize it because of the gum.”
“Yeah! Don’t stop there. Can that teach you anything else about yourself?”
“Well that reminds me of this article I read once about chronic dehydration and how our bodies can mistake that dehydration for hunger. So I think eating will do the trick, but that just makes me more thirsty and the cycle continues.”
“So that’s a lesson about your physical needs. Does that have spiritual implications?”
“Hmmm..maybe in the same way that I blocked out my physical thirst I can block out my spiritual thirst for more of you. And similarly, I can suffer from ‘chronic spiritual dehydration’ that I misdiagnose and try to quench in the wrong way…. Wow. That’s powerful.”
All of us are beings that have physical, spiritual, emotional, social, and mental needs. Our being has been uniquely created to send us signals that tell us about those needs. But those signals, especially if they are signals from chronic needs, can be misinterpreted and even temporarily masked by getting what we think we need.
Here are some questions I asked myself as I processed. I would encourage you to do the same this Easter season. The reason Jesus did what He did was so that we could have life abundantly. And that’s ultimately what we are thirsting for!
• What is spiritual thirst and how does it manifest itself?
• What need is spiritual thirst alerting me to?
• Do I feel my spiritual thirst? If not, in what ways do I think I’ve masked it?
• How can I keep myself better ‘in tune’ with my spiritual needs?
• How will meeting these needs correctly help me live a more satisfying and abundant life?
Stay thirsty, my friends!
