Satisfy Your Thirst

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” — John 4:10-15

Throughout the entire Gospel, John illustrates how people misunderstand Jesus. He says something spiritually, and then people only hear it naturally. Thus they miss the point. We have seen that happen already with Nicodemus. Right here, it happens with this woman. Jesus offers her "water that provides life," and she thinks he means natural water. Even when he explains it further, she still misses the point, assuming he is talking about natural water that will stop a natural thirst.

This story is an excellent example of why people struggle to understand Jesus. We are natural people who tend to only look at things naturally. Yet all the natural things of this life point to the supernatural. There is a supernatural force behind it all. And all creation is constantly telling us about this force. That's because natural things come up short every time. They leave us thirsty and wanting more. We want more water, more food, more relationships, more influence, more significance, more money, more time, more peace, and more of whatever it is you want right now. But this thirst points us to the fact that natural things will never satisfy us. But we seek satisfaction in them only be unsatisfied.

So Jesus presents this woman with the potential for satisfaction. And as we will see, it's not satisfaction from natural thirst. It's satisfaction for her spiritual thirst, which her natural, physical, and temporal extremities are screaming about. The desire for relationship, love, acceptance, forgiveness, and freedom from the repetitive sin in her life. This is precisely why this woman was making a trip to the well at noon when no one else was around. She was ridden with shame, guilt, and sin. And so Jesus saw her natural thirst, which led him to make the connection to her spiritual thirst.

Today notice the thirst in others. All creation is groaning about this, but we need to see it in people because Jesus is the solution. And if God gives you the opportunity, present the solution. And keep in mind they may not get it the first time.

ASK THIS: Who has a natural thirst around you, and how can Jesus satisfy this thirst?

DO THIS: Present them with spiritual satisfaction.

PRAY THIS: God, may I share your satisfaction with others today.

PLAY THIS: Only You Can Satisfy.