Jesus answered and said to her, ”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 4:10)
I cannot say that I am a sojourner in the land identified by God as the “land of milk and honey” but I have spent enough time in the Arabah, the desert of Southern Israel, to gain a great respect for the desert. I learned, from some of the older salts who have traversed the desert lands, that the desert does not take prisoners but rather kills those who do not respect its lethal ways and take adequate steps to protect themselves.
When we were working in the crops or remodeling buildings and erecting stone walls, we always picked the biggest dude and made him the water boy. His job was to rotate among the troops every half hour and, not ask ‘if’ they would like to have a cup of water but rather ‘demand’ that they drink a cup of water, for you see one does not get thirsty or feel the need for water in the desert.
Everyone who travels in the desert knows that water, not food, is the source of life. Without it you are not going to survive for long. In the desert water is an ‘act of the will‘, for thirst is not an issue nor is sweating. Sweat evaporates as it appears on the skin and you never feel thirsty. In essence dehydration in the desert is a silent killer.
Do we not have similar problems when we move through our spiritual wildernesses? Spiritual thirst, the need for ‘Living Water’, is the dominating factor in the lives of all human beings. It begins with a deep longing for something to fill that vacuum that is just the size of God in our chest cavities. Jesus said that our hunger for righteousness will be filled when we seek Him with all our heart, but we also know our natural man likes to kick up his heels and park our armor in the closet for a season or two.
Paul said “Hey gang, “I sometimes do the very thing I hate”. I wish I did not have to admit it, but I sometimes, like Paul, I do the very things I hate. God knew that Satan would have his victories and we would choose to go our own way periodically but He loved you and me so much, He made provision for prodigals who go astray. And we know, that we know, that we know, that is what the cross is all about and “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. (Romans 8:1)
Soooo, my young lads and lassies, keep in mind when you have thirst that water cannot quench, Jesus will meet you at your well and give you “Living Water”.
Blessings,
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