Several places around the world are facing a heat wave bringing record temperatures. And when it gets very hot, people tend to get very, VERY thirsty. But what do you do when there’s no water?
Though it seems to have finally broken, much of the northern hemisphere has just been sweating under an incredible heat wave, with hundreds of millions of people trying to survive the record-breaking temperatures. Caused by five separate high-pressure systems that stretched across the northern half of the planet, folks got walloped by stifling heat that seemingly came out of nowhere and wouldn’t quit. The UK smashed its all-time heat records. Heat-induced wildfires burned across many EU nations. A friend in Rome told me of temperatures over 100 degrees (or over 40 degrees Celsius). Some southern cities in the US reached temperatures of 115 degrees, and a city I was visiting was at 113.
In the middle of all this, a major water main break in Odessa Texas left over 150,000 people without water for days. When the temps are in triple digits and there’s no water to drink you being to learn new definitions for the word “thirsty.” Getting a drink of water becomes an all-consuming task. Everything else gets pushed aside – you MUST find water. That’s being “heat wave” thirsty !!!
It’s a picture that drives home the meaning of our verse for today, which says MY SOUL THIRSTS FOR GOD.
God’s love is refreshing, restorative and necessary for life – just like water. No wonder we see so many images in the bible about being thirsty for God and His presence.
In several of the psalms he wrote King David uses thirst as an illustration for longing after the presence of God. He writes things like, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” David knows how desperate he is for God’s sustainment, especially in life’s most difficult times.
Heat exhaustion occurs when you’re exposed to high temperatures and your body doesn’t have sufficient water. Along with cramps and headache, an excessive thirst is one of the symptoms. Ignore the symptoms and heat exhaustion can rapidly become heat stroke, which is a life-threatening medical emergency. Interestingly enough, when you transition into heat stroke you no longer feel thirsty. If left untreated, heat stroke will destroy your heart, lungs, muscles and brain. The longer treatment is delayed, the more serious the complications can be. It will eventually kill you. At this stage a physician’s intervention is needed, and IV fluids are required to restore hydration and a proper balance of electrolytes.
If you used to want to be closer to God, if you had a “thirst” for Him and His influence in your life that has diminished or disappeared – that’s a life-threatening spiritual emergency. Like a person battling heat stroke, it is impacting you in ways you may not see. Your heart will be struggling, your emotions are probably out of control. You may be so overwhelmed by life without God that you feel as though you cannot breathe. People without God’s love and power in their lives often feel powerless, and cannot even think clearly. You need spiritual water – NOW !
Jesus is the great physician of our soul, and He can restore you to the place where you will say MY SOUL THIRSTS FOR GOD. Ask Him to restore your thirst for God.
At one of the religious feasts in Jerusalem that included a ritual of pouring out water before the altar of God, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.” God says that when we turn to Him He will pour His water on us like a dry and thirsty land. He does it by pouring His Spirit into us. He promises to guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places. Those are places without water. But He will make you strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Are you thirsty yet?
Jesus promised whoever believes in Him that, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” The bible describes a river in heaven flowing with the water of life, bright as crystal; it’s flowing from the throne of God. And Jesus said, “To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.” He gives it freely to us. Are you thirsty yet?
When the water main broke in Odessa Texas, people with wells loaded up their cars and trucks with water and brought them into the affected areas of the city. They gave their water away freely because the people around them needed it. This morning, I’m bringing you water. Are you thirsty yet?
Jesus will bring you to the place where you can feast on the abundance of His house, and He will invite you to drink from the river of His love and grace. He is the fountain of life.
Are you thirsty yet?
