When you are really hungry or thirsty,
what do you crave? What do you long for when your appetites rage?
I find it interesting that when I run,
I crave water and fresh berries; blackberries and raspberries to be precise.
Nothing sounds better in those moments, and it is such a healthy snack to turn
to, it satisfies me and energizes me.
On the flip side, when I am being
pretty lazy and sitting around I crave Mountain Dew and brownies, I can’t seem
to get enough of them. These don’t satisfy, they taste great but leave me
feeling yucky (super spiritual term there) and yet I want more. Hmmm I guess my
body is telling me something.
In those moments of hunger and thirst,
that desire, that craving you have should be a parable of your souls thirst.
Your soul is desperately thirsty, craving something to satisfy, desiring
happiness; it’s an appetite, but your feeding it spiritual Mountain Dew and
brownies. It tastes so good in the moment, but leaves you with a sugar crash, a
bloated feeling and a gross sense of wanting more.
Jesus knows that our soul thirsts for happiness. After all,
He made us to desire happiness. That’s why He told us how to get it:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6)
He is not saying, “those who are good enough get to be
happy!” He is saying that when you desire to be “in a right relationship with
Him” you find happiness. Your desire is to be the way you were intended to be.
You were designed to be in an intimate relationship with your Creator, but sin
has separated you from God. In Christ Jesus there is reconciliation,
forgiveness and restored intimacy.
When you learn to crave that right standing with God, you
will find your soul satisfaction. Your soul is sick of the cheap imitations,
the over sugared empty spiritual calories. It wants true spiritual substance,
it longs for the Living Water only provided by Jesus.
Jesus tells us in John 15 how we can draw from Him, by
building a friendship with Him. We draw from the Living Waters by spending time
with Him everyday.
Consider your best friends. How did they become your best
friends? What sets them apart from others?
Common interests, shared affection and time. The more time
you spend with your friends the more you act like, think like and talk like
them. That is the way you were wired. You are thirsty for relationships and as
you drink of them they change you. Depending on who you choose to be your
friends will determine whether this is good or bad.
When you choose to, desire to, make Jesus your best friend
you will look like, talk like and act like Jesus. Not because you are trying
to, but because of your proximity to Him.
Read Psalm 1:1-3
“Blessed
is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the
way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law
of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams
of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.”
You see what the promise is there? He turns from the desires
of this world and thirsts for God’s Word, for the Living Waters. The results
are growing fruit and health.
That’s Jesus promise to you. If you want a truly happy life,
seek to be with Jesus. Make Him your best friend and watch as He does a work in
and through you. The more time you spend with Him, the more you become the way
you were intended to be.
You maybe stuck seeking happiness in the cheap things of
life. You might be thinking it is found in the latest fashion, the thin waste
line, the big muscles, in a boyfriend or girlfriend, the forbidden fruit, the
pornography, the video games, the sports, the highest grade, the right college,
and the list goes on. None of these will satisfy you.
Jesus satisfies! Set up camp by the stream of Living Water,
drink deeply and never thirst again.
***DISCLAIMER: It is not easy. It’s a daily fight. The
Living Waters are offered freely, but they demand everything. Jesus loves you
the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you the way you are. If you
are truly in a relationship with Him and drinking from the Living Waters you
will be changed. You won’t regret it. It produces joy unspeakable, but change
will happen.***
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