Thirsty?

Written September 13, 2011

For the first time in four months, I am home! I arrived in Belton, Texas in the wee hours of Sunday morning. It was dark as I drove from the southern coastal area to central Texas. Today I went for a jog and observed the foliage, and lack thereof, over the landscape.

When I left in April things were totally different. The grass was green. The plants were green. The evergreens were green! As I walked today, I feel like I gained an understanding of what I’ve been reading in Nahum lately. For the first time I feel like I understand the word ‘desolate’. Through Nahum the Lord expresses His anger against Nineveh; descriptive phrases are used like “He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet. At his command the oceans dry up, and the rivers disappear. The lush pastures of Bashan and Carmel fade, and the green forests of Lebanon wither…who can stand before his fierce anger? Who can survive his burning fury? His rage blazes forth like fire, and the mountains crumble in His presence.” And after describing the fierceness of God we read, “The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him.”

I confess that today I chose to run at the hottest part of the day. It was 103*F/42*C. It didn’t take long before I realized that this was a foolish decision. I was unable to finish my run due to the extreme heat. I cut my run short and then made the decision to walk the rest of the way. As I walked I looked for a shortcut. The heat and my poor fitness coupled with lack of water made it difficult to even think! As I walked I just kept thinking of words like ‘desolate’, ‘parched’, and ‘weary’.

There are certainly times where spiritually we find ourselves in places like this. What is our out? Where does our refreshment come from?

I think about the power of God and I know that I can barely stand the heat outside…All I wanted halfway into my run was just one glass of water…just one. As Jesus sits at the well where the Samaritan woman came to draw water, He asks for a drink. She questions him. He responds, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stands and loudly says, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

Thirsty people! Come to Jesus and drink. Choose to believe in him so that the streams of living water will flow from within you. Choose to believe in him and always be satisfied by the One who chooses to work and live through you.

Glorious day! In the book of Revelation, when the new Jerusalem is being revealed, He who is seated on the throne said to John, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.”

Will thirst ever end? Only in Jesus.