Come Thirsty

 What do you thirst for?  

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” -Jn 7:37

I live in a place where clean healthy water has been more than available to me. All too often I have disregarded the needs of my body for something that tingles my taste buds.

In July of 2008 I was on mission trip in Crimea working with Orphans Hope and the children of Kerch, Ukraine. As we traveled, we had been instructed NOT to drink tap water unless it had been boiled- so our choice would be bottled water: with or without carbonation, or "bubbles." In one seaside town of clean healthy water was in short supply making it not at all uncommon for public water supply to be unavailable for awhile at a given time during the day. 

 Malorechenskoe(Малореченское), Ukraine 

One afternoon after hiking down to the market by the banks of the Black Sea we were ready to head back and feeling a bit thirsty.  We spied a small vendor with cold beverages. Jen picked water. And I, giddy with delight, grabbed a much missed "coke-cola" longing for the dark sweet liquid.  After taking a sip it became clear from the look on her face that Jen didn't care for "bubbled" water. Replacing the cover, she sought the next available trash can. 

With eyes deep as the black sea, our Ukrainian teammate stopped her short. Solemnly explained to us that here they knew the value of this life giving commodity; here they had learned that that waste something so precious would be an utter sin.

Yes, I may have taken my access to life giving water for granted-but I have known thirst.

I've felt drained... 

   "My soul thirsts for You…” Psm 63:1

And I've thirsted in the depths of my soul...
    ... to feel Significant 
         ...to be safe and Secure
           ...to know that I am loved and Accepted    
                  I have known the kind of parched where you wonder if you can go on. 

“Come, all you who are thirsty,…” Isa 55:1

My soul has thirsted and I am not alone.  At the grocery store and in the classroom, their downcast and disillusioned eyes display the empty and longing souls of so many. As I think back to that bottle of bubbly water Jen tried to cast aside- I am reminded of God's words of heartbreak and warning to Jeremiah regarding the people of Israel:  

"For My people have committed 2 evils:  They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters...To hew for themselves cisterns  ...that can hold no water." Jer 2:13

Like Isreal, God has offered us the only thing that will satisfy our soul- His Spirit.  And and yet all too often we cast it aside for something broken;leaving us empty and drained.

But there is Hope. The offer still stands.

Jesus offered Life to the weary Samaritan woman who was trying so hard to make it on her own! I'm trying so hard, but I can't see the His bucket, so I think I have to do it on my own. We try so hard on our own to fill ourselves up, but all the while Jesus says "Come to me"...Surrender...

"If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." John 4:10B

Later in the most public display he urges... Just ask!

"Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "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." John 7:37-38

I find when I set aside my agenda and my pride, and ask God to fill me with His Spirit He has been faithful to do so. It hasn't always been an easy process. It has meant letting go of old habits and thoughts- and replacing them with Truth and love; lessons learned in the very grind of life- taught by the Spirit of Truth.

And the hope??? 

                  Well, for me it's found in God's goodness. 

Although I have cast him aside and sought fulfillment by doing things my own way- He is able to work everything for good. Everything. I once heard the story of a cracked pot and I liked the following take on it. Enjoy!

 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Rom 8:28

When filled with Living Water, our cracks spread his Joy!