A question occurred to me this morning.  Would I like to wash my face in dirty, polluted water to get ready for the day?  And my answer, like yours, no doubt is:  Absolutely not!  Thinking about using filthy water to wash up in turns my stomach.  I look for clean fresh water to come out of our well, flow through the pipes and into my hands out of the faucet.  Splish splash. 

I am so glad we access to good clean flowing water from the well springs of life for the washing and refreshing of our soul.  Jesus promised us that we can draw up water with joy from the wells of salvation.  That out of our inner most being rivers of living water will flow.  And the Lord sends His word to us to wash us and cleanse us and prepare us for a life of walking with Him. 

What we do with our daily preparation for facing our day is important.  I can start with meditations of what I fear, or what my problems are, or some ugly attitude, or reading bad news, and this would be like washing our face in dirty water.  We won't feel any better about the day, and we won't be clean from those things.  They will follow us into the day, and not only that but others will see our face and know that we washed with dirty water.  We will talk with a face that hasn't been washed by pure water.  We will act with a face that hasn't been washed by pure water, and we will think with a face that hasn't been washed by pure water.  Not a pretty sight.

However, if we wash ourselves in the pure waters of life, and refuse to wash and immerce ourselves in negative and polluting thoughts, we will have a face that talks faith, hope and charity.  We will have a face that produces works of faith and is fruitful.  We will have a face that thinks and fulfills Philippians 4:8.  "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of a good report, if there be any virtue and if there is anything praise worthy - think on these things."

So we start our day washing our face with pure, clean, flowing water.  Here are some ways for our soul face to be washed.

• Practice praising the Lord as we awake, setting our heart and mind on His goodness
• Read the Bible - get the word to flow in us and wash us from unscriptural thoughts
• Pray - submit ourselves to the will of God for the day, and cast our care upon Him
• Believe - Choose to believe the good news of God's promises, instructions, commandments, perspectives
• Declare - speak out what we believe, and expect to see the goodness of the Lord
• Thank God for all that He is and all that He does.

We are determining to face to the day with bright countenances and faith filled hearts as we wash with the pure and clean waters of life.