Thirsty

I woke up too early one morning . . . just as the birds were beginning to sing - early. I do not like waking up early. I think it is for the birds . . . literally. I am quite content not to participate.

But, on this morning when I awoke, the chirping of the robins was not my only annoyance. I was thirsty, really thirsty . . . a ‘this is how I imagine it feels to be stranded in the desert’ thirsty.

So, I tossed and turned for a while. Then I tried being as still as possible, squeezing my eyes shut against the early morning sun. When those tried and true methods for thirst quenching fell short, I got spiritual and went with the ‘well, I’m awake anyway so I may as well pray’ technique.

Guess what? Still thirsty.

I knew what I needed. I needed water.

Fortunately, we have water . . . and glasses to put water in . . . and a refrigerator that keeps said water cold for whenever it may be needed.

The problem? That water was all the way down the hall from me!

Okay – our house is not that large. It is only about six steps from the bedroom to the kitchen . . . maybe eight if my sleepy eyes are not yet quite open and I stagger about a bit. But still . . . the water I craved was in a whole different room!

I would have to move from where I was . . . from the cosy comfort of my bed to the cold, dark kitchen.

 From the moment that I first awoke and realized that I was thirsty to the moment that I actually got out of bed and plodded down the hallway, poured a glass of water and was satisfied, much time was wasted!

If I had just responded to what my body was telling me that it needed, I could have had more sleep time . . . or I may have enjoyed the robin’s song. I could have had an early but productive start to my day. I could have actually had a real prayer time and communion with my Father.

Instead I wasted time . . . in a sense choosing to stay thirsty.

Ever had a time when your soul was thirsty? Yes? Me too.

Sometimes my methods for dealing with those thirsty times are just as ineffective as my methods of dealing with my early morning need for a drink.

Ignore it. Hope it will just go away. Think about something else. Get busy doing other stuff. Talk about it. Complain about it. Everything but go to the source of Living Water . . .

I can make it so complicated. Jesus makes it so simple.

“. . . If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” John 7:37

Do you notice that Jesus says “Come to me”?

I want to be clear that this isn’t about doing something to earn what my thirsty soul needs however . . . I do need to take a step.

It may mean getting out of my comfy bed and moving to my knees.

It may mean putting down a book about God’s Word and picking up God’s Word.

It may mean turning off the music . . . even the good music . . . and listening in the silence for the still small voice.

It may be choosing to be less busy.

It may be something completely different for you than it is for me but the promised result is for all of us.

When Jesus was talking with the Samaritan woman at the well he said, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:10

And, if that is truth . . . if it is just that simple, then let’s not choose to stay thirsty . . . let’s just go to Jesus and ask.

Ruth U.