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SIPPING OR DRINKING?

Life can become overwhelming, especially when you’re constantly juggling responsibilities and emotions. Amid all the busyness, it’s easy to let even the most important things slip, like our time with God. I’ve been caught in this whirlwind, with life moving faster than I could keep up. In this state of exhaustion and distraction, God chose to speak to me in a way I could not ignore.

There are times when God sends you some hard truths that shake you to your core. For me, it was one morning when I sat at His feet in my usual focused time for QT. My life has been fast-paced recently, and my QT was caught in the crossfire. I would be out later than I wished; late nights and early mornings seemed to snatch away even my sacred time. My mind was consumed with so many things, the tasks, the anticipation, and not forgetting my emotions and feelings

I have felt so drained. I have felt like I was constantly racing and out of breath most times. When I was conversing with God that morning, I expressed all my cares, I had so many things to tell Him. He listened just as He always has and I felt like my heart was lighter. It was good to express my thoughts and being in His presence is so calming, I guess that’s why Psalm says “You are my place of quiet retreat”. Psalm 119:114. I felt nudged to keep staying and to keep listening. It was then that God gave me an explanation (my interpretation of it at least); the reason why I was so scattered in my tasks, thoughts, and everything. He said, ” You have been sipping, instead of drinking.”

That struck me. I was dumbfounded.

It did. Because I instantly knew what He meant.

It crushed me. It made me feel so naked. I was exposed. All my rushed times came to remembrance. I took an inventory of how everything else had seemed to be attended to with gentleness except for the one thing I needed.

Had I been showing up for my QT and devoting time to him? Yes. But I was merely sipping.

There is a difference between sipping and drinking. I know the difference because God showed me how I have done both. Both will quench a certain kind of thirst but sipping is soothing for a moment and drinking allows a certain kind of satisfaction that doesn’t just leave you thirsty after a few hours. Sipping is an occasional engagement where we take small doses of His word and of His presence to refresh us momentarily or perhaps to check off that religious task list. It is the quick skimming, the quick fix, especially in seasons that seem far busier than others. Drinking, on the other hand, is total and complete devotion, immersion in His presence, taking Him in consistently and deeply to receive lasting nourishment. Sipping is superficial engagement and is evidence that we have been seeking nourishment elsewhere as is alluded to in Jeremiah 2:13 “My people have committed two sins. They have forsaken me the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”. Drinking means continual nourishment as is in John 4:13-14 “…whoever drinks the water I give will not thirst again.”

To say that I sat there mouth agape is an understatement but this revelation healed me. It was then that I realized where I was slipping and some of the contributors of drifting. I listed things as the Holy Spirit brought them to remembrance and I was like an accused standing in front of a jury but needed no defense because I knew that I was undoubtedly guilty.

While we are not the best assessors of our Quiet Time and the results it yields, we can always examine our postures with the help of the Holy Spirit. He can help us identify instances where we have been rushing through and help us bring to our attention our passivity. He can help us rectify some of the discrepancies in our devotion to Him.

Are you drinking? Or just merely sipping?

While there are many determining factors, allow me to suggest a few introspective questions: (written in first person so you can personalize them)

  • Do I seek to spend time with God just for a brief encounter to feel good or do I show up out of love?
  • Is my pursuit of God a task-checking pursuit or a desire for deeper engagement?
  • Do I rush through time with God? Am I always eager for the next thing every time I am with God?
  • Do I leave God’s presence feeling depleted? Or do I leave His presence satisfied yet equally yearning for more?

The shift from sipping to drinking requires a conscious effort and lately, God has been reminding me of the yearning, the hunger that I had when I first got to know Him. Even as seasons change, it should not be a reason to waver in our desire for Him. The best approach is to pray for desperation and a hunger. Conscious efforts include: prioritizing time, setting time, eliminating distractions, focusing on the relationship with God and not just the discipline, and being able to eliminate distraction.

As God searches our hearts, I pray that it shall not be a moment where we feel condemned but instead, we shall be invited to reposition ourselves into the path He desires for us. May we choose to show up to unhurriedly drink from his well; continuous, intentional, and life-giving communion with God.

3 thoughts on “SIPPING OR DRINKING?

  1. Dear Chebet,
    I enjoyed the article…i will be drinking from now henceforth or atleast try to

  2. God help us!!😭
    Sipping will never get us quenched however much we sip for long😩
    What a revelation!!

    Also I love this… . Even as seasons change, it should not be a reason to waver in our desire for Him. The best approach is to pray for desperation and hunger. 👌🔥

    Thanks so much for this😍❤️

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