“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14, NIV).
There was a time in my life when I didn't have joy. I felt unfulfilled and longed to know my life had a purpose. I had an emptiness that no amount of activity or worldly pleasure could satisfy. Oh, I would feel fulfilled for a while with an activity or a possession that would bring happiness. But the activity didn't bring fulfillment to a longing in my spirit that was meant to be filled with only God. The possession didn't last long, and the newness of it finally dulled. My unfulfilled purpose eventually lost my interest, and my joy faded. The pleasure of this world dulled. At the moment when nothing else brought satisfaction, Jesus Christ spoke to my thirsty soul that He had something that would give my life joy and purpose. He had something that would bring fulfillment to a life of constant searching and never finding. He offered me living water.
“If you drink of the water that I provide,” He spoke to my emptiness, “You will never be thirsty again. My water not only soothes your shattered spirit, but it heals you completely because it is living water.” He promised that if I took Him into my heart I would never feel empty or thirsty again. I would have a purpose that was always fulfilled. I would have a joy that would never fade. I would have a meaning to my life that nothing in this world could match. I would know Him, and He would be enough. "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness," He whispered, "they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). My hunger and thirst would be filled if I thirsted for Him instead of the things that would never bring fulfillment.
"Oh Lord," I cried, "just as a deer pants for streams of water, my soul pants for you. My soul thirsts only for you” (Psalm 42:1). He came and satisfied my longing thirst. My life has purpose and meaning. My life has joy and a passion that is new and fresh each morning when I awake. My thirst has been satisfied with His living water. This is a thirst that shall always be filled. It shall always be satisfied. I will never let go of Christ who saved and rescued me from my own pursuits that had no meaning. He has brought not only fulfilling passion to my life. He brings His promise of never-ending unconditional love—His joy that the world can't give—His peace that is more than whatever the world can manufacture—His patience that is longer than any I might offer. He brings the promise of kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control into my life. If I daily live in Him, He will live in me. And I will be complete—thirsting no more for the things that only destroy who I was created to be.
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