Remember when you were a child and you hated getting the hiccups? My sisters used to try and scare me so that the hiccups would stop interrupting my playing time. That tactic didn't really work, rather it added the fear of walking around the corner and being taken off guard once again. The only proved method of curing the hiccups was drinking water...up-side down...from the opposite edge of the glass. It is such a random, goofy, easy solution, but it works!
In our lives, there are little "hiccups" that interrupt our daily living, and our plan for our lives. It could be as simple as getting a phone call that a lunch date was cancelled, waking up late for a meeting, or as difficult as losing a friendship. Whatever the issue may be, life throws us "hiccups" that disrupt our happy, peaceful life. When that moment comes, we get annoyed, mad, or bitter that life is not going according to our plan.
We have simple solutions that we try to cure those hiccups. We try distracting ourselves, getting pep talks from friends, and my personally favorite...shopping. Yet when we crawl into bed and wake up the next morning, our hiccups remain and our frustration continues and grows.
Is there really a sure-fire way to stop hiccups as soon as they arise? I have found the answer is yes! It too...is water. Living water that is. The trick to stop those pesky spiritual hiccups is to drink deeply of God's Word.
"Jesus stood up and cried out, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38)
Typically, the last thing I think to do when bumps in the road happen is to simply drink of the living water. All I have to do is stop and drink in the beautiful and convicting words of Christ. When we choose to run to the healing powers of God's word, we pass over the complications, frustrations, and bitterness that come with trying to solve the problem ourselves. Instead, it focuses our mind's attention on Christ.
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want...He leads me besides still waters. He restores my soul." (Psalm 23:2)
Captivating our thoughts of "losing control" of our lives, we allow our Shepherd to calm us down...to literally restore our breathing. We go from uncontrollable hiccups to deep meaningful breaths. When "hiccups" come in life and we are shaken, we have peace that we have our Shepherd's words to comfort and restore us. Instead of fear, drink deeply and breath peacefully.
