As the deer longs for streams of water,

so I long for you, O God.

I thirst for God, the living God.

When can I go and stand before him?

Psalm 42:1-2

(New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers)

      I have some friends who live in Minnesota but every November, they temporarily move from Minnesota to Alabama.  Cliff and Carol love “wintering” here in North Alabama.  (Who says all the snow birds go to Florida?)  They absolutely love this part of our state.  I once asked Cliff why they don’t just stay down here.  His answer was short and to the point.  “Your summers.  The heat and humidity is just too much.”  This summer has certainly been one of “those” summers.  As the heat wave lingered, newscasters and weather forecasters kept repeating the same message:  “Make sure you drink plenty of water to avoid heat-related problems and even death.”

      This summer I found myself drinking even more water than usual.  It wasn’t because of the warnings from the television; it was from the thirsting of my body.  My body felt the effects of the heat whether I was outside working in the yard, or just walking from appointment to appointment.  The various parts of my body would send a message to my brain.  “Hey, there!  How about some water?  We need water!  You know you’re thirsty.”  I knew they were right, so I would consume water.  I had a thirst that needed to be quenched.  And I knew what would quench that thirst.

      And on this cooler morning, I engaged in a time of serious retrospection.  Looking back over this long and hot summer I heeded my body’s request for water, and looking back over my spiritual journey I saw a different picture.  I realized that my spirit had been saying, “Hey, there!  How about some water?  We need water!  You know you’re thirsty.”  But rather than heeding that warning, I realized there had been way too many times when I had not satisfied an even deeper longing than physical thirst. 

      And this thought came to my mind:  “What if God would not let me have a drink because I had refused to satisfy my thirst in the past?”  Suppose God said, “Listen, you would not drink the water back then, so I’m not going to let you drink now!”  But God will not say that because He loves us so freely and so very, very much.  Jesus has a word for people who have not satisfied the thirst of their heart.  Look at John 4:13-14, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.  But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again.  It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” 

      OK, so He says he has the water, but will He let us drink?  I have pondered this question on more than one occasion.  And on more than one occasion I felt so unworthy to ask for a drink from this water.  No, I did not “feel” unworthy.  I WAS unworthy; no ifs, ands, or buts about it:  unworthy.  And to us who are both thirsty and unworthy, Jesus has something to say:  Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!  Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!”  It’s not “If anyone is thirsty AND good.”  It’s not “If anyone is thirsty AND has done a lot of good works.”  It’s not “If anyone is thirsty AND will never mess up again.” 

      No, His Invitation is simple:  “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me and drink.”  Not just a drop or a little sip.  Not just what will fill those little plastic communion cups.  Drink!  Gulp!  Chug it!  Turn it up and let it dribble down your chin!  Aggressively drink this water because just a sip will not be enough.  Remember that deer from the Psalm.  In that region water wasn’t just anywhere.  At times it could be scarce.  The deer knew it needed water.  Our spirit knows we need God.  With cooler mornings and even cooler days coming, my body my not need as much water, but my spirit will always need the Living Water.

      Is your spirit thirsty?  You bet it is!  Your spirit, and mine, is a connoisseur of water.  Not just any water can satisfy our spirit.  Our spirit knows the difference between just any water and Living Water.  This Monday and all Monday long, and for the rest of your life, heed your thirst for the Living Water.  Do not wait until you feel good enough for Living Water because if you do, you will die in your desert.  Just do what Jesus shouted to the crowds to do that day in Jerusalem:  “Thirsty people!  Come to me and drink the Living Water.”

  Let us pray:  Lord, I know I’m thirsty.  I know you have invited me to drink.  I know choose to honor You by accepting your invitation.  Help me to remember this thirst not just when I’m in a pickle, but every moment of every day.  Until, until that moment when I stand before the Fountain Of Life.    Amen and Amen!