Psalm 63:1 O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.
Obey your thirst… a familiar slogan for a popular series of soft drink commercials. The message is clear: whatever you desire, get it.
Lust, indulgence and instant gratification: for over 200 years in America, each was considered to be fundamentally sinful and the identifying characteristics of the foolish, the sluggard and the immature.
For the last 40 years it has become the unofficial national anthem. Obey your thirst. Just do it. Have it your way. If it feels good do it. Go ahead you deserve it. You’re worth it.
Commercial jingles universally appeal to man’s most fundamental appetites. If you drink the right beer you’ll be surrounded by beautiful women. If you buy expensive clothes you’ll be happy. You should take a lot of vacations because you’ve earned it. Always eat at buffets because you deserve all the food you can eat. Sue anyone that you can for any amount of money possible that can be legally extorted because its your right. Murder an unborn baby because its your choice not to be inconvenienced.
Party, spend, get, experience and have fun… you only live once. Obey your thirst. Indulge yourself. Feel it. Do it. Don’t let anyone tell you how to live your life. What does Jesus have to say about all of this?
Jesus also says, ‘obey your thirst’.
Sorry, different thirst.Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. (NKJV)
John 7:37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. (NKJV)
We all thirst. It’s part of our nature. We thirst for happiness. We thirst for love. We thirst for fulfillment. We thirst for contentment. We thirst for completion. And we thirst for restoration.
John 4: 13-14 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
The world claims to quench your thirst with materialism, pleasure, drugs, achievement or recreation. Oh, it does quench your thirst temporarily. But like the sun rising in the east, it will return like clockwork.
Revelation 7:15-17 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Jesus offers the drink which quenches, satisfies and fills. And on that Grand and Glorious Day when His children see Him face to face, we will thirst no more.
Lord God, may we discover the River of Life Who gives drink to the thirsty soul searching for meaning in this parched, dry and sin-filled world. Lead us to the Fountain to draw deep from Well of Life, Amen.
Contemplation: Which thirst do you have? Do you thirst for money? Pleasure? Sex? Admiration? Recognition? Jesus?
Application: You will obey your thirst. It just depends on which one it is.
- What is the most obvious Bible truth you have learned today?
- What change in your life needs to be made concerning this truth?
- What specific thing will you do today to begin that change?