Are you thirsty?

I’m convinced that one of the most powerful needs that we human beings possess is thirst.  Certainly, hunger belongs in the conversation; this is definitely a legitimate need as well.  But, speaking for myself anyway, I know what it’s like to be thirsty.  I mean excessively thirsty, parched, and dehydrated.  During those times, the only thing that matters is getting to a beverage to quench my thirst.

It makes me think of Jesus’ words in John 4.  He said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.”  Revelation 22:18 says, “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”  Just as God wired our bodies to need food and water, He wired it so our souls would have a hunger and thirst that can only be quenched by Him.  So many have an inkling of this thirst and they try to quench it, only to realize that everything they have turned to – be it sexual immorality, financial prosperity, corporate power and influence, attaining fame, recognition, and notoriety, etc. – ultimately haven’t  satisfied them.  Why?  Because the truth of the matter is this: life apart from God leaves a person empty and unfulfilled.

Dr. Erwin Lutzer once painted an excellent word picture on this topic.  He said that it’s like a person who is stranded in an ocean.  This person is thirsty and drinks the ocean water, but this salty water doesn’t quench their thirst, it actually just makes the person thirstier than they were before.  Jeremiah 2:13 says, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

Are you thirsty?  Not physically thirsty, but spiritually thirsty.  If so, the Bible says God will quench your thirst.  Isaiah 55:1 reads, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”  You have a gushing reservoir of refreshing, life-giving water available that will never run dry.  Come to God; He will satisfy your thirsty soul.

Kevin