January 21, 2015
Come Thirsty, Leave Satisfied
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14 NIV).
Friend to Friend
We all come into the world thirsty. From the time my son made his first cry in the delivery room, he began rooting around for something to drink. God planned it that way.
Our bodies are 50 to 60 percent water and must be replenished continuously. When we go without water, our skin grows clammy, our eyes become scratchy, and our head starts to pound. We need water to keep our mouths moist enough to swallow, our vital organs plump enough to function, and our joints lubricated enough to flex. One week without water and we simply dry up and die.
We also come into the world spiritually thirsty. From the time we are cut loose from our mother’s nourishing umbilical cord, we begin our journey to discovering the living water to satisfy the soul. Oh, we don’t know it yet. But God has placed the desire in each and every one of His image bearers. Until we meet Jesus at the well, we fumble about trying to quench the God-given thirst with anything and anyone who offers temporary relief. But it is just that…temporary.
Author Peter Kreeft wrote: It is only in a relationship with Jesus that we discover “the ultimate purpose for which we were created, the meeting and marriage between ourselves and God…the highest and holiest and happiest hope of the human heart, the thing we were all born hungering (and thirsting) for, hunting for, longing for.”
The Samaritan woman at the well we meet in John chapter 4 had tried drinking from many shallow streams. But they had all left her thirsty for more—or at least for something different. Jesus offered her freely flowing, resplendently refreshing water. Water that bubbles up from the indwelling Holy Spirit and quenches every thirst, washes away every sin, and flows into every nook and cranny of our beings. He invites us to come often and drink deeply.
I live on a beautiful lake. I can look at the lake, swim in the lake and even stand in the lake…and still die of thirst. The only way for the water to enter my system is to scoop it up and drink.
Likewise, we can read about Jesus, listen to sermons about Jesus, and even believe that He was a good man. But until we actually believe that Jesus is God’s Son, the Messiah, who died for our sins and rose again…until we partake of Jesus and make Him Lord of our lives, we will remain thirsty.
Today, let’s drink from the well that will never run dry. Jesus is the only One who can satisfy your deepest longings.
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, I come to You thirsty today. I pray that You will fill me with living water that never shall run dry. Forgive me when I skip away to drink from other streams that will never satisfy. I know that Jesus is the Living Water and I drink deeply from Him today.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
What other “streams” besides Jesus have you drunk from to try and quench your thirst? Does “it” have a name?
What was the end result?
What are some ways that you can quench your thirst with Jesus, the Living Water? Click over to my Facebook page and share you answer. (This is a hard one. Be brave. Click and share.)
More from the Girlfriends
Thirsty for more? Today’s devotion was adapted from my book, What God Really Thinks about Women: Finding Your Significance through the Women Jesus Encountered. I like to call it, Her Story/Your Story. In it I sit on the sidelines and experience every encounter Jesus had with a woman. I see myself in her eyes and learn just what God has in store for me. It is not a book for the faint of heart. If you’re ready to go deep into stories that you’ve perhaps heard before, this book will open your eyes to rich truths that will change your life and help you fall in love with Jesus all over again.
Seeking God?
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Girlfriends in God
P.O. Box 1311
Huntersville, NC 28070
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