A THING CALLED THIRST!

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Joh 7:37-38

Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Joh 4:13-15  

Desire is both a good and a terrible word. It is an impetuous animal. It is a marauding beast. If uncontrolled it can eat even its children.

It is true God has given us all things for our enjoyment. ‘And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you’ (Deu 26:11).  But God has also taught us to rule our passions. Because if we aimed at having everything the world has to offer, we would drop dead with exhaustion. Desire can get out of bounds, break the lock, and flee with our lives. But then what shall we have gained in the end? I have seen a gravestone with a broken head… I have been to a cottage whose hearth went cold a long time ago… It is a terrible state to be in, and all because desire came to the door and broke it down!

So what should we do? ‘All things are lawful unto me,’ so cried the apostle, ‘but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any’ (1Co 6:12).  And then he expounded: ‘That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.  For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries’ (1Pe 4:2-3). 

Self cannot redeem self, and only God can do that. He takes the life, the whole life – breaks it, and in his fingers he begins to mold a new thing. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit’ (Joh 12:24). And it is this new thing which shall never become thirsty again. May you in this season of isolation and resurrection find that water. We have tried everything O God, but we are still in a very dry place! Give us this water, that we thirst not, neither come we here again to draw. Amen!

HopeisnotAshamed