Are You Thirsty?

During childhood visits to my Georgia grandmother, I’d go with my cousins to a nearby stream to get water for the family’s needs. The stream was much like the one in the photo; it could even be the same stream, but I can’t be sure. I remember the water from the stream as being clear and cold and refreshing, much more than the water that came from our taps at home. Just thinking of that water now makes me feel thirsty.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6, NIV). He told the Samaritan woman at the well that if she drank of the water He would give her that she would never thirst again. “Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water" (John 4:10, NIV).

What is living water? It is water that is life-giving. When God created the earth, approximately 71 percent of its surface was made up of water, mainly in oceans and other large bodies of fresh and saltwater. Our bodies are 50-60 percent water. If we don’t drink enough water, we become dehydrated and our physical health is adversely affected. People walk around with bottles of designer water in hopes their bodies will fit into designer jeans. But what about our souls? If we fail to consume adequate quantities of God’s living water, our spiritual health deteriorates. Water is necessary for life.

There is a difference between moving water and still or standing water. Bodies of fresh water with moving currents, such as streams or springs, are best suited for drinking because their movement acts as a purifier, a cleanser removing debris and harmful elements. Standing water, on the other hand, becomes stagnant and filled with sediment. Standing water breeds mosquitoes and is unsafe to use. If our lives become stagnant, we are susceptible to impurities that breed sinfulness and apathy. It is essential that we maintain forward movement in our Christian walk, filling our hearts and minds with God’s Word which “washes” us clean. Drinking that living water – that life-giving water - fills us with God’s presence and power for victorious living. It satisfies our thirst.

“But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14, NIV).

Prayer: God, help us to truly thirst after righteousness and hunger for more of You. Let the living water of your word cleanse us from unrighteousness and sin. Make our lives sparkle with the joy of your presence like sunshine on moving water. Amen.

-Hazel King, Writer/Photographer
Copyright 2008