Running The Race: Water Stations

So yesterday was the big race. Without a doubt, the biggest relief at any point during this race was the water stations. It was a fairly hot day yesterday and as people staggered in to the water stations, exhausted and starting to feel dizzy with dehydration, they grabbed cups of water from the volunteers like it was a magical life potion.

To continue with the apostle Paul's analogy that the Christian life is comparable to running a race, we have a water station for times when we feel exhausted, dizzy and dehydrated.

"Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.' " -John 7:37

One great (and life-saving) quality of the water stations in a race is that it's open to everybody. It's not only the elite racers or the best looking racers who get a cup of water. Out of the thousands of people running the the race yesterday, every single one who came to the water station received a cup of water. Likewise, the incredible thing about Jesus' invitation is that it's open to anyone; "if anyone is thirsty". You don't have to be born into the right family, you don't have to do all the right things, you don't have to be anybody special in order to come to Jesus.  If someone will humble themselves to come to Jesus, even if they have to crawl, He will accept them and give them His life-giving water.

A potentially concerning thing about road races is when spectators offer "un-official" drinks to racers passing by. We're told not to accept drinks from anyone other than water station volunteers. This is for obvious safety reasons. The spectators are strangers and could have contaminated the water. Luckily, this has never happened in the Tely 10, but other road races have had instances where a group of spectators decided to pull a very dangerous prank by handing out salt water to runners. Salt water leaves you more dehydrated than if you hadn't drank any water at all.

In our walk with God, we do have other options; there are other sources of water that we could choose to drink. They are not wise choices or good sources of water, but they do exist. Money, friendship, sex, drugs, and self-indulgence all promise to satisfy our souls. But just like salt-water, they leave you even more depraved than you were at the beginning. The woman at the well in John 4 came to realize this concept. She had been drinking "worldly water" in the form of romantic relationships, hoping to find satisfaction. After five failed marriages, each one leaving her more and more thirsty, she ran into Jesus who changed her life.

"but whoever drinks the water I [Jesus] 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

Unlike the contaminated water sources the world offers, Jesus gives us water that causes us to "never thirst". Once you taste the water of God, you never need to look anywhere else.

One final thought on this. There is an action required of us in all of this. In that verse above, Jesus said "whoever drinks the water". This is an action that He cannot force on us. He can invite us to go to Him, He can offer us the water, but it's up to us to drink it. Just like a volunteer working at the water stations can hold out the cup of water for you to take but they can't force you to drink it.  If your spiritual life feels dry, tired, disoriented, or maybe completely passed out... maybe it's time for a drink. Go to Jesus again today and ask for that living water.


"As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."
 - Psalm 42: 1-2