Thirsty?
And then I bonked...
On a clear summer morning few years back while on a bike tour with the fellows known as “Team Immatour” we climbed from North Fork, ID, up Lost Trail Pass and over into Montana. The climb at the top of the day wasn’t all that long, less than 20 miles, but the last six were fairly steep with exposed switchbacks. While our two coyotes, Rusty and Bob, danced on the pedals far ahead, and Todd, the Diesel, churned away relentlessly on his way up, I was the caboose.
Being a large mammal, I’m often the last in line on a climb like that. That’s fine, but this time I ran out of water long before the rest area at the top. The day heated up and sweat poured. In short, I bonked with the summit in sight. I was dang thirsty which made the last bit a start-and-stop slog. At the top all I wanted was to quench my thirst.
Physical thirst crowds the top of any list of the most powerful drives known to man. You can deny satisfying hunger for weeks at a time, but one thing you cannot leave unsatisfied for long is thirst. If not quenched, thirst can bring the strongest to their knees and searching for relief is top of mind.
That reminds me of a scene in the Jesus story.
In Jerusalem, on each day during the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the chief priests would lead a procession down through the Kidron Valley to the pool of Siloam. Out of the waters of the pool he would fill a golden pitcher and carry it back to the temple and pour it over the altar to remind the people of the days in the barren wilderness when God gave them water out of a rock. Then the people watching would shout and wave palm branches, rejoicing and praising God for his provision.
But on the Great Day, the last day of the feast, some commentators say there was no procession from the pool to the Temple. It was on this day that Jesus seized the opportunity to get everyone’s attention by crying aloud,
If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scriptures have said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
Picture the commotion his proclamation caused! The water poured out on the altar was an appeal to the giving God to continue to provide for his people water, along with all their needs. Then Jesus, as if he completes the prayer, tells the people that he is the source of their satisfaction. Provocative. Radical. Heretical!
By that, he’s saying, “Hey, y’all, it’s me! I am the Rock. I am the very Rock that those in the wilderness drank from, and I can do the same for you.” These words are confirmed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:4: “They all drank of the Spiritual Rock which followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” There in the wilderness God was teaching the same truth that he is teaching us today:
Jesus is the Rock from which we too can drink and satisfy our deepest thirst, the thirst of our hearts.
Notice Jesus puts no limits on who he would help. He says simply, If anyone thirsts. Thirst drives people to extraordinary lengths to have their desires quenched, and people thirst for many things. And his offer is to all who thirst, anyone, whosoever, and the only requirement is to come to him.
What unmet “thirsts” drive a person toward despair that Jesus says he will satisfy?
The longing for purpose and meaning in life
Those worn out and who deeply desire forgiveness and a peaceful conscience
The longing to be free from fear or worry or anxiety
The exhausted ones who desire change, but can’t make it stick
Those longing to live the “with God” life
Like with so many other pictures Jesus paints of the Kingdom of God, this one simply says that while you can’t, he not only can, but will.
So, a worthy question to ask is “What am I thirsting for?”
Perhaps spend some time this week sifting through your thoughts and desires. Ask God to reveal what you really desire and the tools you use to try to quench your own thirst. You may not even know right off what you thirst for, but sense there is something. Ask Jesus to make it known to you, then pay attention.
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of spiritually bonking. Jesus promises to quench the heart-thirst we all, at times, endure. Take him up on the offer to have your heart overflow with rivers of living water.
Drink deeply. Today.
Music…Let’s go to the Movies this week
…and a couple of bad jokes
A man entered a pet shop, wanting to buy a parrot. The shop owner pointed out three identical parrots on a perch and said, "The parrot to the left costs $500."
"Why does that parrot cost so much?" the man wondered.
The owner replied, "Well, it knows how to use a computer."
The man asked about the next parrot on the perch.
"That one costs $1,000 because it can do everything the other parrot can do, plus it can build a website in a day."
Naturally, the startled customer asked about the third parrot. "That one costs $2,000."
"And what does that one do?" the man asked.
The owner replied, "To be honest, I've never seen him do a thing, but the other two call him boss!"
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A herd of buffalo were grazing on the range when a tourist said, "Those are the mangiest, scroungiest beasts I have ever seen."
One buffalo turned to the other and said, "You know...I think I just heard a discouraging word."