Drinking from Puddles

“Nothing will supply the needs, and satisfy the desires of a soul, but water out of this rock Jesus Christ, this fountain opened. The pleasures of sense are puddle-water; spiritual delights are rock water, so pure, so clear, and so refreshing -- rivers of pleasure” (Matthew Henry - emphasis added) .

Why is it that I so often choose to drink from the puddles rather than the clear, rushing river that God offers? Why I am so tied to this earth that I would choose to satisfy the pleasures of sense rather than the delights of the soul?! I love this quote because I feel like it in a small way captures the difference. Puddles are stagnant. They are dirty. They are cloudy. They are shallow. They dry up. On the other hand, rivers that come from the rocks can be wild! They are powerful. They are clear and clean. They are deep and full of life. They can take your breath away! The water is abundant.

Only someone who has experienced the rushing power of the Word of God in our soul knows what that feels like. It is impossible to describe it to someone who hasn't. Why then, do I so often turn on my music, read a book, watch a movie, or call a friend when I could be diving into that river that comes from My Rock? I think it's okay to have leisure and enjoy those other things. But only when I am not using them to fill a place in my soul only Jesus can and wants to fill. I think when I have gone to the Living Water to be nourished and revitalized each day, I can actually find more pleasure in the other things in life because I am not expecting more from it than it can give.

I MUST stop hanging around the puddles when I have access to the indescribable pleasure of the River of Life!