“Jesus replied, “If you only knew who I am and the gift that God wants to give you- you’d ask me for a drink, and I would give you living water.” John 4:10 TPT
“..At the center of the heart of those who are truly thirsty is a desire for intimacy with the One who knows and created the very fibers of our being.”
Imagine this. Jesus, exhausted, leaned on the well in the glaring afternoon sun. Even in the fatigue, there was a sense of expectancy about Him. Then, she appeared. Lead by her physical thirst, she approaches the well and begins to draw the water, hoping this stranger would not attempt to speak to her. This is why she had headed to the well at this time in the first place- to avoid social interaction. It would just figure that someone else had a similar idea. She hid her face. Intuitively, Jesus begins to engage her in the very thing she was trying so vehemently to avoid because He can see beyond her physical thirst to a thirst that dwelled much deeper within her.
Jesus says to her,” If you drink from Jacob’s well you’ll be thirsty again and again, but if anyone drinks the living water I give them, they will never thirst again and will be forever satisfied!” Today’s urban slang for “thirsty” means someone who is desperate for a relationship. This is the pivotal term. We’ve all experienced desperation at one time or another in our lives. Whether it is financial, emotional or spiritual, we all know how it feels to be so desperate for something that we would almost endure anything to quench this “thirst.” Even when Jesus exposes the fact that she had five husbands and was living with another man out of wedlock, this does not push her away. Instead of reacting in offense and leaving, as many of us may have done, she stays and presses Him with a question. You see, she was too desperate to be offended. Finally, someone could give her answers. This was a man unlike any she had ever encountered.
Surprisingly, she doesn’t ask if she should stay with the man she is with, or what her future holds. In that moment, before the Messiah, she asks about…. worship. At the center of the heart of those who are truly thirsty is a desire for intimacy with the One who knows and created the very fibers of our being.
If you are feeling desperate today, know that God has the answer and is the answer to anything you may be facing. Whether it’s a financial need, a healing, depression or addiction- even if you feel it’s your own fault He’s waiting to supply your need, if you will reach out to Him.
Before the presence of God, all of our flaws are exposed and yet, our faithful Savior’s love rushes to cover those flaws. As thirsty as we may be for Him, Jesus is all the more thirsty for intimacy with us, to the point that He gave His life for a chance to have relationship with us. My question today is…how thirsty are you?