DRINKING DEEPLY

Today's reading: Isaiah 12-17

"With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!" Isaiah 12:3 NLT

Oh, has this verse got me thinking this morning!

I'll not ask of you, but for me--well, for me it's got me evaluating just how deeply I am choosing to drink of God's glorious gift of salvation to me.

Am I taking just dainty, lady-like sips on Sunday as the pastor speaks the Word?

Am I rationing out my believed portion like a cowboy in the Badlands with many miles to go before the next cool cup of water?

Am I taking a drink while holding my nose, not caring for the requests God makes of my receiving this gift--to forgive as I've been forgiven, to love as I've been shown love, to share as it was shared with me?

Am I using a straw to partake of this refreshment? Am I allowing it to pass through someone else to me--like a grandparent or a parent who served the Lord wholeheartedly, and now I'm attempting to hang on to their coattails?

Or am I drinking deeply of the joy found in salvation from sin and death?

Am I gulping noisily...

Am I slurping up every single drop...

Am I guzzling each opportunity presented to me to experience another facet of God's love...

Am I swigging it down, knowing there's more where it came from...

Am I knocking it back knowing it's exactly what I need for the moment...

With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!

That's exactly what I want to do with this amazing gift God has given to me.