As I’ve been reading Psalm 42 every day now for almost two weeks, and as I continue to seek God on what He wants me to understand, I’m noticing some themes. As always, when I take on learning something new, especially in the Bible, I research various versions in order to gain a fuller and deeper understanding. In Psalm 42, the psalmist describes a serious condition of his soul. He’s suffering from dehydration of the soul. This is the major theme of this psalm from my perspective anyway.
I believe the theme of dehydration is too much to write about in one blog post, so I’ve decided to write this in three parts.
- Part 1: I’ll focus on what dehydration is and what the symptoms of dehydration include.
- Part 2: I’ll share a true personal story of dehydration.
- Part 3: We’ll look at the causes and risks of dehydration and how to prevent dehydration of the soul.
What is Dehydration?
When considering the meaning of dehydration as it pertains to the human body, dehydration is the process of an abnormal depletion of bodily fluids. Our human body needs water to survive. When we use or lose more fluid than we take in, or we don’t get enough water, and we don’t replace the lost fluids, we get dehydrated.
So it is the same with our souls.
Dehydration of the soul is the process of depletion of spiritual water. Our soul needs spiritual water to survive.
If we use or lose too much of our spiritual water without replenishing, then our souls become dehydrated. Essentially, we’re deprived of our vitality just like we are when we’re dehydrated from physical water.
What is Spiritual Water?
Water is a very rich symbol in the Bible. Many times the Lord is referred to as spiritual water.
In fact, the Lord is called “the spring of living water” (Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13).
Furthermore, Jesus Himself is the source of living water.
In John chapter four, Jesus was having a conversation with a Samaritan woman at a well. He asked her for water. As the story unfolds, we learn that Jesus wanted this woman to receive His source of water, not the physical water that was in the well. He explained to her the difference.
Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life.” (John 4: 13-14, HCSB)
This is the water our friend, the psalmist, was needing. He needed to go to the spiritual well of living water.
Symptoms of Dehydration
According to Mayo Clinic, symptoms of dehydration may be different in people especially the very young or very old.
Here are some common symptoms of dehydration:
- Dry mouth
- Listlessness
- Irritability
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Disoriented
- Thirsty
Just like symptoms of dehydration of our human body vary, so can the symptoms of dehydration of our souls.
Our psalmist’s symptoms of dehydration of his soul are pretty severe.
His soul is downcast, disturbed, deeply discouraged, and deeply depressed.
His heart is so sad he’s mourning and grieving. This is causing great suffering to the point he feels like his bones are being crushed and broken. His heart is breaking.
He’s experiencing so much turmoil and agony in his soul from the intensity of his soul’s dehydration that he describes it as a deadly wound.
While thirst is a reliable indicator of dehydration, both for our human body and our soul, many people don’t even feel thirsty when they are dehydrated.
At least our psalmist is thirsty. In fact, he’s actually panting. He knows he’s in trouble. He knows he needs water.
In Part 2, I’ll share about when my own thirst made me pant. I knew I was in trouble too.
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