April 9, 2009
Cheap Substitutes
by Charles R. Swindoll
Cheap substitutes are never better than the original. Something unhealthy usually happens when we try to replace the genuine with the artificial. This principle is true when it comes to our health . . . and it's especially true with what we drink. Nothing quenches our thirst like water. Nothing is better for us than water---clear, clean water. It is always better than substitutes. Even if we know this to be true, it's easy to turn to artificial drinks and try to convince ourselves that one is about as good as the other. We know better.
What's true in our physical life is equally true in the spiritual realm. For centuries, people have turned to substitute gods, thinking they are just as satisfying as the living God. Wrong! A prophet named Jeremiah once lived in a culture a lot like ours, where this kind of lifestyle was common. Brokenhearted over the idolatry, he delivered God's message in bold, clear words:
"For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water." (Jeremiah 2:13)
Think for the next few minutes about the "broken cisterns" in your own life---the things you give too much time and attention instead of drinking from "the fountain of living waters." Be honest. As you identify them in your mind, admit them to God. Acknowledge what they are: cheap substitutes that can't satisfy. Even worse, they have taken the place of a genuine and deep relationship with the living Lord.
Come today to the only One who can truly quench your soul's thirst.
Reprinted by permission. Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Purchase "Day by Day" here.