Originally published Tuesday, 01 May 2018.
Author: Sarah Clews
When I think of being hungry or thirsty, my mind goes to one thought, “never satisfied.” It’s annoying really. We have to eat and drink fluids or we die. Somehow, the body is never satisfied. We fill it knowing we will continue to be thirsty.
The Samaritan woman in the Bible felt that frustration of nagging thirst. In John 4 (NIV), Jesus goes to a well, tired and thirsty, and asks the Samaritan woman approaching the well for a drink.
“The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
Jesus is offering the gift of eternal life—the chance to never be thirsty again—the chance to be satisfied!
Hunger and thirst can be a metaphor for the constant striving we call life on Earth. We’re always hungry for something more. Sometimes we look for it in community, hungry for human connection. To find no friend can love us enough to fill the longing in our hearts. Sometimes we look for it in pleasure, hungry for more fun. Yet it’s so dissatisfying. No sooner is the vacation over, then we are longing for the next one. Sometimes we look for it in money, always looking for that higher paying job. This quote by Will Rogers is hauntingly true, “What’s considered enough money? Just a little bit more.”
Community, pleasure, money—none of these are inherently bad. But getting more of them will always leave us empty. They won’t satisfy our souls. When we look for satisfaction in the temporary, we’ll always be disappointed. I must know in my heart that I’ll only find full satisfaction in heaven and in my relationship with the Divine Creator.
“For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”- Psalm 107:9
Being in the presence of Jesus, that’s an amazing thing to look forward to. Satisfaction is out there, but it won’t be found without him! When I draw near to God, my hunger and thirst are sated. He isn’t disappointing. He is forever. His love is perfect. His gifts are good.
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”-Psalm 16:11
Sarah Clews loves being the wife of Carson and mother to three little girls. She received her degree in English from Corban University and still loves the craft of writing. She also helps her husband run a martial arts school. In her free time, Sarah enjoys talking with grown-ups (!), finding new authors, doing online research, and reading her favorite childhood stories to her girls.
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