It’s summer!! You have probably ended school or are about to end school by now. One of my favorite things about summer outings with friends is the fun new summer drinks we get to have. Maybe you’re a refresher girl from Starbucks or maybe you love the summer flavor add-ins for your latte. I always love a good summer lemonade by the pool as the sun shines down over us. As I was getting excited for these new summer drinks I began to think about the living water of Christ.
There are so many references of water in the bible. One of my favorites is the story of the man at the pool of Bethesda. All he wanted in life was to get a touch of the powerful pool of water that would heal him. Day and night he laid by the pool waiting for it to stir with what he thought was healing water. What he didn’t realize was that Jesus was already in the process of healing him. He was searching the world for a healing Jesus was about to offer him. So many times I can try so hard to satisfy my thirst with what is right in front of me instead of with something that truly satisfies.
Think of a time when you were really really thirsty. After a workout, on a hot day, in the middle of the night? For me I think of high school after sports workouts when you are having to do sprints and all you want is a water break haha. When you are truly thirsty you will take any liquid to quench your thirst. The moment a drink hits your lips you can’t help but to chug the whole thing. You may chug a coke, tea, lemonade, whatever is near you want it. But, when our body is desperate for water, it doesn’t matter what drink we choose, water is the only source that will actually satisfy us.
Longing for something is an action that can drive our minds crazy. When we desire something so much it can be easy to let the thoughts of it take over our minds. We will do anything to satisfy the longing inside of us. I think about the longing of love. We can search high and low for a place to receive true love. We will search in boys, we will search in affection, we will search in affirmation, but the only love that truly satisfies is the love found in Jesus. We repeat this pattern in a few areas of life. It can be found beyond the subject of love, it can be found in success, relationships, achievement, you name it.
In our mental health we can be dependent on emotions to satisfy these desires. We can look to the emotion of happiness, joy, peace, and confidence. We put a heavenly expectation on our earthly minds. When our earthly minds let us down by not giving us those things we can spiral into an emotional storm that results in anger, frustration, depression, and anxiety. It’s like drinking salt water in hopes that it will hydrate you. It may feel satisfying in the moment but what it is really doing is draining your body of hydration. When we look to earthly things to give heavenly benefits it does the same.
In John 7:37 Jesus says “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” You don’t have to jump through hoops to find what you are looking for but Jesus is waiting for you to take it from him. I have spent so much time searching the world for things that can only be found in Jesus. In this verse Jesus is saying, if you want it then it is yours. If love is what you are looking for I have it. If joy is what you’re longing for then you get to experience it. We may be able to temporarily find these things here on earth but the true source is Jesus.
As you go through summer there are going to be a lot of opportunities to search for the water of life. You may feel tempted to look for it in friends, parties, or opportunities but you will never find what you are looking for in those places. Jesus is waiting for you to draw near to him and find his living water, and when you do, you will never look back.
XO Scarlet