Thirsty?

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

—John 4:7-15



Have you ever been on your way home from somewhere and you realize that you are ridiculously thirsty? And you realize that you have been ridiculously thirsty for quite a while? Or maybe you just got done working out and you say to someone around you (or perhaps to yourself depending on your level of crazy that day), "I am so thirsty, I am going to drink, like, 8 glasses of water." So you head to the kitchen and pour a nice, tall, cool glass of water and chug it. And then you repeat that a couple times. And then you realize there's no way you can realistically drink 5 more glasses like you originally stated, but you're feeling refreshed in spite of that. I have done that many, many times. Especially when hiking. I married a man who is very outdoorsy. I have always been a fan of the outdoors, but this guy, Jarrod, he is the walking definition of outdoorsy. He loves to canoe, he loves to hike, loves rafting, has been on a scary kayaking trip and loved it, he loves to camp, he loves spelunking, he loves rappelling. He has taken me on trips that no novice backpacker should consider. Our first backpacking trip was in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Anyone who knows anything about backpacking in mountains knows that this is no casual statement... backpacking in the Winds is not for the weak of heart. Or legs. Or any other body part. This mountain range is as brutal as it is beautiful. And Jarrod, my beloved Boy Scout, threw me right into the backpacking world in the Wind Rivers. No such thing as "ease into it" with this guy. No way. It was just dive in, head first, no life vest- hardcore backpacking with grizzly bears and ridiculous altitude gains. I can remember, almost as equally as I can remember the lungbusting trails we had to ascend, how amazing it was to stop at the top of the multitude of "almost there" plateaus on our upward journey for a rest and a drink. There is nothing so refreshing as being absolutely drained physically, sweat pouring, heart thumping, legs throbbing, lungs bursting and getting that cool, liquid relief. A drink. A respite from the monotony of putting one foot in front of the other. A reason to continue on to the next vista. The very substance that compels you to continue on through the rugged terrain. No water has ever tasted so good to me as the filtered water from those mountain streams did. Not so much because it was mountain fresh water, but more because of my thirst. I didn't just want some water to drink, I needed some water to drink. It was necessary. Most people are sipping pretty little umbrella drinks on their cushy vacations...not this girl. No way. I chug water from Nalgene bottles as if my life depends on it, and technically, it does.


While our life, and especially when it hangs precariously in the balance on a rigorous backpacking trip, is dependent on water, so too do our souls depend on water. But water of a different sort- the living water that is Jesus Christ. Have you ever been going about your business in life and all of a sudden you realize that you're running on fumes? You have run out of strength, have run out of ideas, have run out of the very will needed to continue plodding through your world. You've taken over your life again. You've inadvertently said to God, "I'll take over from here, thank you very much." But you can't do it on your own and the reality has come crashing down again. And then, out of seemingly no where, you hear, or feel the invitation, "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters." (Isaiah 55:1) You realize you've been dying of soul thirst and you cry out, "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water!" (Ps 63:1). And then the relief begins to pour in. The power and presence you need is there and there is no end of the supply in sight. He has all the relief you need.

The beauty of thirst of the soul is that a drink is only a prayer away. There is no physical effort required. You've simply got to recognize your thirst, your need for God, and then take the initiative to come to Jesus and drink your fill. Drinking is equivalent to believing, trusting, studying, taking in all that Jesus has to offer. When we realize our thirst, the relief and quenching power of Jesus is available if only we will ask. So today, may you examine your life and recognize your areas of thirst and may you drink deeply of the life that God offers and be satisfied now and forever.