Thirsty?
Posted: April 13, 2010 at 6:32 amHow often do you feel physical thirst? What is the best way to quench it? By drinking water, of course. Water has many important qualities and is a huge component of our physical well-being. [Source]
We are all well aware of this. You might also be aware of some common issues relative to dehydration and thirst:
- people often don't recognize their thirst, mistaking it for hunger
- not getting enough water each day
- trying to satisfy our thirst with other things such as coffee, soda, juices, etc
You know what is even more interesting? Many of us are experiencing at least one of the above without even realizing it. Even if you are drinking a gallon of water a day. You might still be thirsting. For what? For living water. For something more out of life. [Source]
This past week we started a series in our church that is widespread. It is being discussed in our Sunday classes, in worship, and read in a study book throughout the week. The study, John Ed Mathison's Treasures of the Transformed Life, warrants this much attention because it discusses very relative issues. I hope that you will read through this, as I approach it in a way that I believe we all can relate to. What are you thirsty for....in life?
One of the biggest hurdles we may encounter in our lives is feeling unsatisfied and empty. Consider the things society claims will satisfy us. Money, power, material possessions, strength, beauty, control, popularity, etc. Do you think these things satisfy for the long haul? We can probably all agree that the above are nice to have, and satisfy for a time. But those things are not guaranteed. They do not last. And we will undoubtedly come to a point where even with all of that it is still not enough. In essence, we are trying to satisfy our thirst for pure water, by turning to other options that still leave us dehydrated and craving more. I know that I could strive and strive and strive to be extremely fit, to have an extremely popular blog that goes somewhere, to be the best mom, etc. But depending on those things would still leave me empty because I wouldn't have anything lasting to depend on. By trying to gain control over everything, I would still end up spinning my wheels because there is always something or someone else bigger, better, greater. [Source]
Another problem is that we may not even realize we are empty and thirsting for more. Our lives might be sailing smoothly along and we are quite content. But what will happen when our shiny bubble bursts? What will happen when a challenge presents itself and you have no control over it? Suddenly the emptiness will reveal itself. There will be a need for something greater to help lift you up. For me, the knowledge that God is committed to me and loves me keeps me thriving and living a joyful life, despite the frustrations I currently face. I can vividly picture where I would be right now if not for my faith. And it isn't a pretty picture by any means. Faith in God's love can fill you up in the every day moments and the challenging moments. You never have to worry about being empty when you know God is simply crazy about you.
And just like with physical thirst, we may experience spiritual thirst by not getting enough of that living water. God is undoubtedly committed to us, but we must also be dedicated to Him. We must be willing to reach out and make an authentic relationship with Him to truly feel the joy, peace, and satisfaction He can bring.
[Source]
Our pastor shared some lyrics from a song that really rang true to me...
We go through life, parched and empty, standing knee deep in a river...dying of thirst.
How insane is that image? Someone dying of thirst, yet surrounded by water. That is the way we may be living. We may feel a desire for more out of life. For more satisfaction. More happiness. More fulfillment. And all we have to do is reach out and drink. All we have to do is make the commitment to recognize we are not alone and we need help. All we have to do is embrace the love that our God has for us and give love in return. He doesn't expect us to be perfect. He just expects us to love Him, love others, and do our best. That's not a tall order in my opinion...especially when you receive the gift of never going thirsty again.
- What do you think satisfies you? Has something you thought satisfied you, left you hurting?
- What situations leave you feeling empty? Do you think faith could alleviate that feeling?
Tags: faith
I think the same things that satisfy you can leave you thirsty, i.e. relationships and putting yourself out their to achieve more. The thing is, those things are worth the risk and I’d rather possibly be thirsty than never try to quench that thirst.
I think you misunderstood the post. I was in no way trying to say that pursuing those things is bad. I was just saying that we can’t put our sole happiness in those types of things because it will come up short. We need a combination of many things to feel fulfilled, but faith is the only thing that can help to feel true joy despite other circumstances.
My husband and I have lived in our current neighborhood for the last two years. We moved here after getting married. We love our neighborhood and our home, but lately I feel such a disconnect. We don’t know many people around here and we both work a lot, not leaving a ton of room for opportunities to meet others and make connections. Recently, we’ve begun attending church and it’s made a huge difference in how I feel. I feel connected and I feel that I have a purpose! Baby steps…. 🙂
Hey gorgeous – another fabulous post. I have definitely thought something would satisfy me only to be slightly disappointed. I am still trying to figure out a career path that would be satisfying. I don’t hate my job, but I don’t see myself here for the long haul, or doing what I do for the long haul. Something is missing and I am still trying to put my finger on it. I get a huge thrill out of trying to inspire friends and coworkers to exercise, love it when they ask for advice. I am thinking that may be a direction I need to be going towards.
Whenever I feel hungry, I try to drink water first, and see if I’m just thirsty. Sometimes it really helps!
Being surrounded by people I love and being able to make a difference in somebody’s life drives me forward every single day. I love helping others and seeing that surprised smile on their faces when something unexpected happens to them. I also enjoy fighting for animals rights and generally feel compelled to live consciously and look after our beautiful planet. I know one person can’t make a huge difference but I use this analogy: if you think you can’t make a difference, think how annoying one mosquito in a large room can be. 🙂
first of all, speaking of actual physical thirst–I was a water machine yesterday–soo thirsty.
I agree with a lot of what you said–I think we are constantly in search of that ONE thing that will magically satisfy completely and we fail to realize that we are missing something very important–faith.
When I was younger I thought having a boyfriend would make me so happy…and I would date the wrong people, people who took advantage of me. Yet, I thought that I could not be happy on my own!
Ohhh how I wish I could go back in time and slap some sense into my 18 year old self!
the only thing that satisfies is having a relationship with God…i’ve tried to replace it with possessions, feeling “skinny” enough, and relationships with others, but they’ve all left me high and dry. the only thing that’s been constant is His never-failing love for me!
GREAT post!!!! I especially love this: “But what will happen when our shiny bubble bursts? What will happen when a challenge presents itself and you have no control over it? ”
I think you and I both know how that feels right now, with what we are both going through. Without God, without my faith, I don’t know where I’d be.
This was a GREAT post Tina and I feel like I needed to hear this today. I am so bad about trusting and letting things out of my control. I constantly feel like I have to micomanage everything and I don’t! I think I thrist for the ability to let go and allow myself to actually have FAITH in myself and in this world.
What a wonderful post!!! 🙂
I can relate to this when I became injured after running a marathon. Running, for me, was what I turned to–in good times, bad, boredom, anxiety..anything. But when that was stripped from me I had to learn that something physical like running can be taken away at any moment so I need to 1) cherish every second I am able to run (or walk) and 2) learn to depend more on other things, like myself and God when times get rough. Because those two will never leave me.
Have a great day!! And thanks again for the great post! 🙂 🙂
Such truth in this post, Tina. I do believe that our culture praises unnatural and superficial things as fulfilling. Wealth, beauty, relationships, thinness, career. The only fulfillment is within us. I know this because I had a lot of hard realizations after losing 135lbs. I had always believed that a healthy body weight would mean happiness, that I would feel more alive, more fulfilled. But the truth is that it didn’t. While this was almost a smack in the face at first, it taught me the most valuable lessons about myself and life. I had to dig deep to find out that loving myself and living in the moment, growing in my relationships, and expressing my creativity were the things that filled my soul.
I’m so happy you wrote about this- it’s so wonderful to pause and remember what truly sustains us. Thanks Tina!!
What a great post, so true! Sounds like you have a great service to reflect upon!