Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14

   Reading the gospels is kind of like listening in on Jesus’ conversations with people. Have you noticed that Jesus didn’t talk the same way to everyone? He figured out where people were coming from first, and then geared the discussion around their frame of reference. For instance, when Jesus faced the teachers of the law, he chose legal jargon: valid testimony, execute judgement, witness, evidence, investigate, proof. But when he talked to the woman at the well he used words like water, thirst, drink, spring. The Master didn’t talk about living water to the lawyers; He didn’t use legal vocabulary with the woman at the well.

  In John 4, an interesting conversation takes place between Jesus and a Samaritan woman. She comes to draw water and Jesus asks her for a drink. She is surprised a Jewish man would even talk to her. Jesus mentions “living water” and she asks, “Where can I get some of that?” She thinks Jesus is talking about H2O, but He’s really talking about eternal life. As a result of their conversation by the well, a two day revival takes place in Samaria.

    True satisfaction will never come from external sources. It’s like trying to fill a bucket that has a hole in the bottom. We keep straining and striving to find contentment from things that can’t promise fulfillment. We try shopping, partying, jumping from relationship to relationship, counting “likes” on social media and binge-watching Netflix. Jesus offers an internal source that is like a spring of water — pure, refreshing, deep and unlimited. His life in us wells up and overflows.

Lord, I want what You have. This world just doesn’t deliver what I most desire. Pour Your living water into my soul and I will be satisfied. I choose to let You fill me on the inside so Your love, joy and peace show on the outside.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Psalm 42:1-2

   A young man asked a wise elderly teacher how he could find God. The gentleman asked the young man to come with him to the river. The young man expected to receive some wise words along the riverbank.  But when they arrived, the old man walked out into the water, so the young man followed. Suddenly, the teacher grabbed the young man and forced him under. The seconds ticked by and the young man began to fight against the firm grip holding him down. Right before everything went black, the hand released him and he blasted out of the water, gasping for air. As he gagged and choked, he shouted, “What were you doing? Trying to kill me?” The teacher said, “When you want God as much as you wanted that breath of air, you will find Him.” How much do you want God?

   There are two possible reasons why a deer pants and searches for water. One, it has been on the run. Perhaps a predator or hunter has given chase and the animal is faltering under the pressure. Two, it has been living in drought conditions and the heat is taking a toll.

  These same reasons should drive us to seek out the living God. First, we can spend all our lives running — chasing after security, significance, wealth, fame, or affirmation. The pace and pressure of constant striving wears us out. We need rest for our souls that only God can give. Second, we may experience times of dryness — periods of emptiness that come with disappointment or failure. We need living water to bring life back into our desert and refreshment to our spirits.

   A panting deer, desperate for water, seeks until it finds relief.
 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

Dear Lord, I want more of You in my life — more of Your guidance, more of Your assurance, more of Your grace. Slow me down when I am running ahead of You. Lift me up when I am faltering. Help me to seek You with all my heart.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

   Western diamondback rattlesnakes can survive on one meal a year. Can you imagine how much time and money you could save if you only needed to eat once a year? Camels can get by on dinner once a month and wolves do just fine feasting every seven days or so.

   God created people, however, with a need for regular consumption of food and water. Even after eating a huge Thanksgiving meal, everyone is poking around in the kitchen for leftovers by evening. Hunger just keeps coming back.

   Pastor Matt Chandler asks the question, “What stirs your affection for Jesus?” In other words, what makes you hunger and thirst for more of Him? Once we are aware of what spurs us on in our relationship with Jesus, we can arrange our lives to make room for those things. It may be a daily quiet time, regular Bible reading, or study of God’s Word with fellow believers.

  On the flip side, Chandler asks, “What robs your affection for Jesus?” What are the things that pull you away from Him? These things aren’t necessarily sinful activities; they can be neutral or even good things that just become too important or consuming. Does too much social media or exposure to secular worldviews distract you away from Jesus? Do you get so wrapped up in sports or hobbies that they dictate your schedule?

   God provides us with daily bread because He desires daily interaction with us. We cannot survive on one meal a year. God promises a great blessing in craving righteousness, including the fullness that only God can give. He satisfies!

Lord, I am bombarded daily with worldly temptations that pull my attention away from You. Help me to be more aware of the things that draw me nearer to You. Grant to me a thirst for the things that stir my affection for You.

Today we enter into the fifth week of Lent
and we consider Jesus’ fifth statement from the cross.

Week 5
Word of Need:
Later, knowing that all was now completed,
and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled,
Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
John 19:28

Need: a requirement, an urgent want
a lack of something deemed necessary

Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. John 19:28-29

   It’s amazing how thirsty kids get at bedtime. I remember nighttime routines with our children that became long and drawn out, including multiple drinks of water. It was less a genuine need for water than it was an effective stall tactic.

 This word from the cross may seem insignificant. Why would Jesus use His last precious breath to call for a drink of water? We may be tempted to look for some deep symbolism in Jesus’ words. Was He thirsting for God? Was He longing for some kind of “spiritual water”? Surely there must be some hidden message in those simple words.

   Or maybe he was just thirsty. This statement is so precious because it shows us Jesus in all His humanity. Yes, He could walk on water and turn water into wine and command the waters to be still. But on the cross, He set aside His divinity to experience death as a man. When His physical body approached its final moments, His organs began to fail, causing dehydration. Jesus was dying for a drink of water because He was dying.

   Vinegar on a sponge seemed like a cruel offering but Jesus received the sour acid, knowing this would fulfill a prophecy: “I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” (Psalm 69:20-21)

  Despite His weakened state, He was aware that the suffering was almost over and that one last prophecy needed to be completed. He left nothing undone.   

Lord Jesus, I shudder when I think of what You went through on the cross. You emptied Yourself of divinity and took on the very nature of a human. You felt the nails, the thorns and the thirst so I wouldn’t have to. Thank You for humbling Yourself and being obedient to death, even death on a cross.

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:19-23

  Jeremiah was so good at lamenting that he was nicknamed “The Weeping Prophet”. He wrote a whole book of the Bible entitled “Lamentations”, which expressed his deep sorrow over the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians, just as Habakkuk predicted. No one had listened to his warnings of coming judgment so God’s people were carried off to exile in Babylon – a very sad time in Israel’s history.

  Like Jeremiah, our thoughts tend to focus on our misery. We go over and over our troubles in our minds. We rehearse our painful pasts and remember them well, until at last, we have depressed our very souls. Although it’s hard to stop the spiral downward, it can be done and Jeremiah shows us how. He interrupted the flow of negative thoughts and changed direction. It’s like he said to himself, “Hey, wait a minute. Come over here, thought. Give me something better to contemplate. I call on you to help me turn this around.”

   What has the power to put our pessimism in its place? First, think about His love, His great love. Second, consider His unfailing compassion, His deep feelings for us and intense desire to come to our aid. Third, ponder His faithfulness that shows up every single morning with a fresh batch of mercies. Here is where our hope lies, even in the most trying of circumstances.

   God is not driven away by our questions of “Why?” and “How long?” He courteously waits for our “Yet…” and helps us summon the thoughts that keep our minds rehearsing His love, compassion and faithfulness.

Lord, thank You for the example of godly people who showed us how to lament. As we bring to You our honest feelings, remind us of Your faithful love.    

How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Habakkuk 1:2-3

   Psalmists weren’t the only ones who could lament. Old Testament prophets did a fair amount of crying out to God as well. Habakkuk asked God question after question. The prophet was allowed to complain, to vent, and to press God on His seeming lack of action.

   Habakkuk had a reason to lament. Everywhere he looked, he saw injustice, evil and tragedy. His own people were in rebellion against God, ignoring the warnings of coming judgment. The prophet foresaw the terrors of being exiled in the intensely evil nation of Babylon.

   Still, Habakkuk held to the literary form of lament. He made the turn.
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
 Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
 Though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
 YET I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

   What complaint would you make to the Lord? What difficult situation or frustrating circumstance would you bring before God? Perhaps some practice in the art of lamenting is in order. Bring those questions and those complaints to God in prayer. But complete your lament by pushing through and making a statement of faith like Habakkuk did.

Dear Lord,
Though___________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________,
YET ______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________.
 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Psalm 23:4

   When we read the 23rd Psalm, we might picture David, the shepherd boy, sitting on a peaceful hillside, strumming his lyre while the lambs baa-ed under the starry sky. Nothing could be farther from the truth! When King David wrote this famous psalm, he was probably on the run from his son who was trying to depose his father and take over the kingdom. David had left Jerusalem, weeping openly, to avoid conflict with his boy. For the first time in years, the King found himself away from the palace and sleeping under the stars as his enemy pursued him.

   Hiding out in a shadowy valley, David renewed his trust in the Lord who had been with him in the past and who was with him now. David had reason to lament — his life was a stressful mess — yet, he knew he could count on God’s goodness and mercy even in the midst of turmoil.

   We often hear this psalm read at funerals because of the words, “the shadow of death”. Donald Barnhouse tells the story of when he was on his way home from the funeral of his wife, trying to think of some way to comfort his children. Just then a huge moving van passed by their car and its shadow swept over them. He asked them, “Children, would you rather be run over by a truck or by its shadow?” The children replied, “Of course, the shadow.” Barnhouse explained, “Two thousand years ago the truck of death ran over the Lord Jesus. Now, only the shadow of death can run over us.”

  The power of death has been broken. Jesus took the hit and we no longer need to fear. Death has been swallowed up in victory!

Lord, thank You for conquering death and the grave. When I have to walk through dark seasons, help me to remember You are with me to comfort and reassure me that I will dwell in Your house forever.

My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:3-5

   The Psalms express the gamut when it comes to emotions. There are psalms of praise and thanksgiving, but there are also starkly honest psalms of lament, or complaint. Psalms of lament usually begin with a desperate cry, a description of a crisis, or a haunting question. Then there is a turning point when the writer stops looking at his sorrow and turns toward God. By the end of the psalm, there is an affirmation of trust in God even though there has been no immediate deliverance from trouble.

    It is important for us to learn to lament well. The Psalms show us that honest expressions of hurt or grief before God are perfectly acceptable. We don’t always have to fake it and convince ourselves and everyone else that we’re “fine”. Unfortunately, we often get stuck in the complaint stage and resist making that turn toward God.

   In today’s passage, the writer did two things to help him snap out of his gloomy mood. First, he recalled back to happier days when God did feel near; he reminisced about times when fellowship was rich and joy was abundant. Second, he preached to himself. After questioning the state of his own heart, he encouraged himself and determined to praise God regardless of his situation.

   The Psalms teach us to acknowledge and name our pain, but to not get stuck there. It is possible to move from hurt to joy, from darkness to light, from desperation to hope.

Lord, it often seems like everyone around me has it all together and I don’t measure up. Thank You for permission to be honest about my struggles. Help me to turn toward You when I’m hurting and put my hope in Your love.

At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabahthani?” Mark 15:33-34

   “In some mysterious way that we can never fully comprehend, during those awful hours on the cross, the Father was pouring out the full measure of His wrath against sin. God was punishing Jesus, as if He had personally committed every wicked deed committed by every wicked sinner. It took six hours.” (Greg Laurie)

The night before, Jesus had called out to God in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Abba, Father, take this cup from me.” Abba was a name used to indicate the close, intimate relationship of a father and his child, as well as the childlike trust that a youngster puts in his “daddy.” On the cross Jesus used the name “Eloi” — a more formal way of speaking to God. Jesus really did feel abandoned by his Abba Father. It’s possible to feel forsaken, even though you never will be forsaken.

The fact that Jesus cried out with this heartbreaking question, shows that he remained in relationship with God, despite his anguish. Although no answer was given to His question, “Why?”, it was not the last prayer Jesus prayed on the cross. He kept talking to His Father.

  When we shut down and stop asking questions or stop communicating at all, we put ourselves at a dangerous distance. We rarely get all the answers to all our questions, but that doesn’t rule out God’s presence. In times of grief or pain, the answer to our “whys” wouldn’t make the hurt go away. More than explanations, we need God’s presence, which will never be taken from us. “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Lord, the intensity of what You felt on the cross is unimaginable. Because You were willing take my place and pay for my sin, I never have to wonder about Your faithful presence. Thank You for Your promise to never leave me or forsake me.