Quench Your Thirst

When my husband and I were first married we would often play tricks and pranks on each other.   My tricks usually involved silly gags.  He would delight in tricking me at the supper table.  It wasn’t hard. Usually after a full day I would sit and daydream or I would be so involved in our conversation he could get off with nearly anything.  Once he gradually snuck all his parsnips on to my plate and not even realizing it I ate them all.  This pleased him since he did not want to eat them.  On another occasion we were eating fiddleheads.  I like them plain, but he likes them best dipped in vinegar.  We chatted together as we ate and continued as we cleared away the dishes.  Then he turned to me and said, “Aren’t you going to finish your water?”   I was pretty sure I had, but not thinking I tipped my head back and dumped in the last mouthful.  It came back out pretty quick, what a horrible trick; he had poured vinegar in the bottom of my glass.  I certainly hadn’t expected that!

 Having a mouthful of vinegar is very unsatisfying if you are thirsty; it actually makes your thirst stronger.  A very thirsty person would never grab a glass of vinegar to quench their thirst.  Many times, though, this is how we treat our spiritual thirst.  God created people to have fellowship with Him.  It is a very natural part of our nature to have a longing or a thirsting for “something more”.  David in the Psalms said, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.”  (Psalm 42:1) Often, in an effort to satisfy a nagging spiritual thirst, people will fill their homes with stuff, their time with activities, their lives with people. These things aren’t wrong, but they aren’t what will quench the thirst.  The longing only becomes stronger.   Many people who “have it all” aren’t really satisfied.

When the Samaritan woman came to the well she picked the right person when she asked Jesus to give her water. He didn’t give her the answer she had expected; he offered the answer to her spiritual searching and longing.  Jesus knew her past and He knew He was the answer to her future.    ¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14) The spiritual water Jesus has to offer satisfies a soul like a cool refreshing glass of water satisfies a physical thirst. Just like that horrible glass of vinegar left me with a sour taste in my mouth and a desperate thirst; nothing can substitute Jesus’ living water.  When we try we are only left longing. I am so thankful that God wants me to have fellowship with Him.  Thank you Jesus, that I can be truly satisfied when I have a relationship with you.