Thirst Quencher

Psalms 42:1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
Jeremiah 2:13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

The only time slot for me to run yesterday was at 3:00 in the afternoon. It was about 90 degrees, and the humidity in the 60's which is relatively cool for a day in July down here in the great state of Alabama. Again I say, relatively cool. About 40 minutes into it, I was gassed, and in large need of some water. As I neared the finish of the run, my thoughts strayed to the cool A/C and ice water that awaited me back inside the comfy confines of my office. I did finish pretty well, but not before the burn of thirst and muscle fatigue produced parched lips and a inner demanding of some replenishment. I needed a thirst quencher.

When you look at David's psalm above, His heart to worship God was deeply thirsty for a drink of Living Water. This came to him from His communion with God. Just like my body was screaming at me yesterday to get some water, David's heart was screaming at Him, "you better get your desires quenched in God. " There is a word in there for all of us.

When you look at Jeremiah chapter two it further spells out our "drinking options" if you will. Jeremiah is heralding two sins of Israel: They had forsaken God, the fountain of living water and they had made their own cisterns, empty idols that lead to death.

Have you ever thought about your communion with God as a submerging the bucket of your soul into truth and life and Holiness? That is exactly what it is. It is a submersion in all things Good.

Now, here comes the hard part for us all: what are we really lowering the bucket of our souls into this day? Where are we getting fulfilled? In What or Who is our identity being defined? Wherever we are being defined, satisfied and fulfilled that is the well that we are lowering our bucket into to be fulfilled. You see, we are all born with a God sized hole in our hearts that only He can replace. We will all either be fulfilled by His love, or spend our lives and eternity drinking from wells that temporarily seem to quench our thirst. Those "man made cisterns" can not hold water that quenches our thirsts, but only make us more thirsty as we have not been fulfilled by God. They actually deliver the reverse effect that they seem to offer as thirst quenchers. This is why sin habits end up dominating people in the form of addictions, as thirst is actually increased as the empty cisterns that have the illusion of fulfillment, dehydrate us even further. These cisterns of idolatry truly blind us to our true thirst for Holy, Living water. Only He can put a stop to our thirst. Until that time, we will be striving unceasingly with the wind in our face.

Where is your thirst being quenched today? If it is not in communion with God, then you are dehydrating yourself and your soul is withering on the vine. Only Christ promises and delivers Living water for our souls.