“Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.’”– John 7:37 To understand spiritual thirst, imagine an individual in the desert. His canteen is empty, his lips are parched, and he is desperate for water. Just as God provided water in the wilderness to quench the physical thirst of His people, Jesus offers living water to quench our spiritual thirst. … Read More

“How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?”– Psalm 137:4 The Israelites were in captivity in Babylon, and their captors asked them to sing one of the songs of Zion. But the Israelites wept instead. When the Babylonians asked what had happened to their song, they replied that they had “hung their harps” on a willow tree because they felt God had forsaken them. Let me ask you: is your harp on a willow tree today? In … Read More

“I stretch out my hands to You; My soul longs for you, as a parched land.”– Psalm 143:6 We all go through droughts – dry periods in our lives. This was true of David in our scripture passage. His dryness was not due to a physical thirst for water. Instead, David was spiritually parched. He said his cure was to “spread out his hands” to God, meaning he prayed. When we are parched, praying is not high on our priority … Read More

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…”– Ecclesiastes 9:10 In Mississippi, where I was born, there is a little town by the name of Soso. Years ago, when they were building the railroad, a group went ahead to scout out a place where they could set up camp. Upon returning, they were asked if they had found a good spot. And they replied, “We found a place. It has some water, but not enough. It … Read More

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”– Matthew 5:6 Have you heard of the “rule of threes”? This rule states that we can go without air for about three minutes, without water for about three days, and without food for about 33 days. If that is the case, most of us have never experienced true physical thirst or hunger. What Jesus is saying in this Beatitude is that we need to be thirsty … Read More

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?”– Psalm 42:1-2 In these verses, we are given a picture of a deer running from those who would hunt down the animal. He has been running so long that thirst has set in and he is at the point of exhaustion. David states that his desire to … Read More