The Thirst Within
“…but whoever drinks from the water that I shall give him will never thirst.” (John 4:14). These were intriguing words for a woman who had just walked about 2 miles with a large clay pot to get water for her family for the day. You have probably seen pictures of women walking with their pots balanced on their heads.
This woman was from the city of Sychar in the land Samaria. The Jews and the Samaritans did not like each other. The Jews hated them. So, when Jesus asked this woman to give Him something to drink, who was taken by surprise. “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (John 4:9).
Jesus, then, gave us a lesson in turning a conversation from the mundane but necessary—talk about water—to the eternal and critical. He responded, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10). This is the water that will alleviate thirst for a lifetime.
What thirst is Jesus talking about? I know He was not talking about water for a thirsty physical body. Is there another kind of thirst? It is spiritual thirst. Jesus also said,
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6).
“…he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35).
“if anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” (John 7:37).
The Apostle John wrote in the Revelation about the quenching of this thirst in heaven. He wrote,
“They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore…” (Revelation 7:16).
“It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.” (Revelation 21:6).
“…let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17).
These verses indicate that there is something about each one of us that longs or thirsts for something in heaven. The wise man wrote these words in Ecclesiastes 12:7, “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” This seems to be the key to these verses.
Each of us has a spirit that was given to us from God. That spirit longs/thirsts to be reunited with God. This spirit stays with us for as long as we are on the earth. Then, it returns to God. There is a yearning desire in each of us for that which God offers. Solomon also wrote about the origin of this yearning. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Not everyone recognizes this desire for God. That is what Jesus was doing with that woman in John 4. He was calling attention to the innate desire within her challenging her to feel it and respond properly. And, it worked! “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman…” (John 4:39). This is the effect we can have on others if we recognize and respond properly to the thirst within.
— Mike Johnson
