Are You Thirsty? Come and Drink!

Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.

Isaiah 55:1

When is the last time you were really thirsty? Perhaps you were working in the yard and forgot to pause for a drink. Or maybe you were out hiking and ran out of water. That happened to me many years ago, as friends and I went on what we thought was going to be a short hike. In our youthful enthusiasm, our stroll in the mountains turned into a 20-mile march in the baking sun. We did the last ten miles without water. I have never known greater thirst in my entire life.

Our souls are thirsty for the water that God alone provides. Nothing else will satisfy. The good news is that God invites us to come and drink from his well, and it’s completely free. Through Jesus, the deepest yearnings of our souls are satisfied. When he spoke with a woman at a well in Samaria, Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 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).

Don’t you yearn for that kind of living water? Don’t you thirst for the water that Jesus offers?

When my friends and I finally got back to our cars after our 20-mile hike, we drove to a local mini-mart. I bought a gallon of cold, pure water. No drink ever tasted better to me or satisfied me as did that water. Yet the water of Jesus is even more refreshing and satisfying. He alone offers that which our souls desire most of all.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

Can you remember a time in your life when you were very thirsty? How did it feel when you finally able to drink?

Does this experience remind you of your relationship with God?

Do you drink deeply from the living water of Jesus?

What helps you to drink this water?

PRAYER:

Gracious God, thank you for the invitation to come and drink. Truly we don’t have the “money” to buy your living water. But you offer it freely through Christ. You satisfy us like nothing else in life.

When we are wandering in a spiritual wilderness, help us to turn to you, knowing that you alone will satisfy our yearning.

Teach us, dear Lord, to drink each day from your living water. Spring up in us, we pray. Satisfy us, and then use us to offer your living water to others. Amen.

Explore more at the Theology of Work Project online commentary: Drinking Living Water