The Water That Truly Refreshes Us

By Mark D. Roberts

September 17, 2024

Scripture — Isaiah 55:1 (NRSV)

Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.

Focus

Have you ever been desperately thirsty? If so, you know how wonderful it is to finally get a drink of cool water. So it is with our souls. We have a deep, desperate thirst for the water that God alone supplies. Jesus offers water that satisfies our longings, not just in the moment, but continually.

Devotion

When was 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 modest 6-mile 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 a greater thirst in my entire life. Hour after hour all I could think about was the water I would drink when we got down from the mountain . . . if we made it despite our dehydration.

Our souls sometimes feel the way my friends and I felt on our hike. We can be desperately 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 the divine well. Not only is ample water there, but it’s also completely free.

Through Jesus, the deepest thirst of our souls is satisfied. When he spoke with a woman at a well in Samaria, Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing 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.

Reflect

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

Act

Talk with a friend or your small group about a time you were very thirsty. In what ways is this experience like your longing for God?

Pray

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

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Drinking Living Water.


Mark D. Roberts

Senior Strategist

Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders,...

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