Obey Your Thirst: Christ

~ I'm probably dating myself here, but when I was in high school, Sprite had a slogan: "Image is nothing. Thirst is everything. Obey your thirst: Sprite." While I've never been fond of Sprite (it reminds me of being sick), I liked most of this slogan. However, I'd change Sprite to Christ and thirst from a physical thirst to a thirst for spiritual living water. Then, we get: "Image is nothing. Thirst is everything. Obey your thirst: Christ." To quench our thirst, we must seek, pray, and asking for the living water offered to us through Jesus Christ. It's such a beautiful time of year to reflect on this... as we celebrate Jesus who came into a broken world to suffer death on the cross... to give us this water... so that we may never thirst again.

Searching for Living Water
Amos 8:1-9:15

"The Lord God says, 'The days are coming when I will cause a time of hunger in the land. The people will not be hungry for bread or thirsty for water, but they will be hungry for words from the Lord. They will wander from the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea, from the north to the east. They will search for the word of the Lord, but they won't find it. At that time the beautiful young women and the young men will become weak from thirst. They make promises by the idol in Samaria and say, 'As surely as the god of Dan lives...' and, 'As surely as the god of Beersheba lives, we promise...' So they will fall and never get up again." (Amos 8:11-14)

This image of thirsting for God is extremely powerful for me. It reminds me of passages where we are told to feed and give water to our friends/neighbors/strangers/enemies. If we must look after the physical thirst and hunger of our brothers and sisters, how much more important it must be to care for their spiritual thirst/hunger! If we are to live like Jesus, we must offer the water that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman at the well.

And people are searching to quench their thirst in this world. It is so evident to me as people try to fill the God-shaped hole in their lives with fame, fortune, ambition, drugs, alcohol, sex, relationships of all kinds. People are missing something, but they don't know quite what, just like the song, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for..." Well, it is up to us to let people know that we've found it, and they can, too. With the promise of Jesus' living water, though we may fall down... we will get up again.

Praying for Living Water
Psalm 143:1-6

"I lift my hands to you in prayer. As a dry land needs rain, I thirst for you." (Psalm 143:6)

This psalm reminds me of the beautiful worship song, "Breathe." Though is doesn't speak to thirst specifically, both are illustrations of elements that are so essential to the whole of our lives. "I'm desperate for you. I'm lost without you." Here in Arizona, everyone loves when monsoon season comes. The much-needed rain makes it possible for this dry land to produce beautiful flowers and crops that will nourish many plants and animals. We need this same nourishment that comes from God's living water. And so we pray that the Lord give us our daily needs- the water of Jesus' promise, the food of God's word, and the air of the Holy Spirit.

Asking for Living Water
Proverbs 30:1-4

"I have not learned to be wise, and I don't know much about God, the Holy One. Who has gone up to heaven and come back down? Who can hold the wind in his hand? Who can gather up the waters in his coat? Who has set in place the ends of the earth? What is his name or his son's name? Tell me, if you know!" (Proverbs 30:3-4)

I am so encouraged by these verses, and impressed with the writer's faith. Some may wonder at that thought. Faith? But... he doesn't know anything... doesn't faith mean knowing? I personally don't see it that way. The author here recognizes that there are things he doesn't know... he has the knowledge that there are things he doesn't know, and he desperately wants to be let in on the secret! In order to ask these questions, you must have faith that there are answers out there, for isn't it much more comfortable to sit back and relax and say... well, I know it all.

In fact, while Agur proclaims himself that he has "not learned to be wise," the Bible's heading gives it the title... "Wise Words from Agur." That I may be so wise... to recognize all the things I don't yet know and the places where I need more living water poured into my life... so that I may be a fountain, flowing freely with Your Spirit, oh God.