Burning Thirst

The author of the one hundred and seventh Psalm knew something of the agony of a burning thirst, even as you and I. But he found his way to the spring. He shouts the good news to you and me. "He satisfieth the longing soul." (Psa. 107:9)

And Isaiah in his day saw the hot and restless crowds about him hurry from one booth to another and buy and buy, only to come away in the end the more restless and dissatisfied. At last, when he could endure the tragedic sight no longer, he cried after them:

"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Harken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." (Isa. 55:1-2)

"Why pay your last penny for what can never satisfy," he asks in bewilderment, "when he who meets your needs may be had for the taking?" Why indeed? But with a veritable passion for being cheated, we keep up the sorry business from generation to generation.

This claim that God can satisfy every man's need becomes, if possible, even more emphatic upon the pages of the New Testament. It reaches its climax in the magnificent and daring appeals of Jesus.

With what sublime audacity he flings out this invitation, "If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37). If any man - there is no single exception. He claims to be able to meet every man's need regardless of who that man is or what his circumstances may be. "I am the bread of life," (John 6:35) he declares again, "he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. ... But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

And those who have accepted this invitation have never been disappointed. Countless millions through the centuries have been able to sing out of their own experiences:

"I heard the voice of Jesus say,`Behold, I freely giveThe living water; thirsty one, stoop down, and drink, and live.'I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream;My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in him." Author Unknow