01/10/2022
How parched are those who wander lost in the desert? How dry are their tongues, and how incredibly thirsty are they who pant, and thirst? What wouldn’t a man who is dying of thirst not do for a single drink of even rancid water from a stagnant pool? Well, it is similar for those of us who are lost in spiritual deserts, only here we find that although Satan tempts us with the filthy water of false gods, our soul longs for the righteous taste of living water. Jesus speaks to us of such amazing living water, and immediately we long for it, but how can we go about finding it? Where can we quench the deep thirst of our soul, and how can we resist the desperate temptation of a dying man to sip even the rancid water offered by the dark one? Well, only God can give us such water because living water flows from Jesus, His Son, and only His Word can help us fend off the temptation to drink from the poisoned pools that Satan offers us.
“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.””
John 4:10 ESV
Jesus offers us both His body as the bread of life, and the living water that satisfies the thirst of our souls…
“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
John 6:35 ESV
And we will find that the living water He will give us will multiply itself within us, and it will will provide us with the eternal life that we have been promised…
“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.””
John 4:14 ESV
So our soul longs for such incredible living water, David speaks of it in Psalms, and like the thirsty deer that he writes of… we pant for it…
“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.”
Psalm 42:1 ESV
But what is this living water that Jesus speaks of? Is it His blood? Is it water that has been transformed like the wedding water that He miraculously changed into wine? No, it is the Holy Spirit that has been given to us; listen…
“On the last day of the feast, the great day, 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.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
John 7:37-39 ESV
So, is our soul thirsting today, and if so what water will we partake of? Will we be satisfied with the water drawn by the Samaritan woman from Jacob’s well? Will our thirst be quenched by tainted desert water offered by Satan, or will our souls be refreshed and given eternal life by the living water that flows, and is offered like God’s grace through Jesus Christ? Which will we choose?
Prayer:
Father, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your Son Jesus Christ who has redeemed us, and for the many blessings you provide us in life through Him, but we thank you especially for the living water that gushes forth from Him, and wells up within us because it not only quenches the thirst of our own souls, but the souls all all those around us who drink of it. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God, and amazing is your mercy and grace. Praised be your name for the living water that you give us that quenches our thirst forever, and bubbles up from within us in such volume that we can offer it freely to those about us. Mercifully are you in this way Lord, and amazing is this your grace. Wash us in the blood of your Son Jesus, cleanse us of our sin, and transform us day by day into a more perfect reflection of His image. Judge us as worthy in Him and offer us Life, the living water that brings with it eternal life… all of this through Him. In this way Father seat us for evermore at your table, and call us by name as your beloved children… partakes of the living water, and receivers of Life in Jesus… now made eternal in Him.
Rich Forbes