I left early in the morning to speak at a women’s conference, planning to stop about an hour down the road to get a fountain drink. When I drive, I like Coke Zero with a shot of cherry. When I’m home, I like peach tea, and I’m usually sipping it within a half hour of waking up. I’d already been up a half hour before leaving home and after the first half hour of driving, I felt parched. I wasn’t used to waiting so long to quench my morning thirst. (I know…by now you’re probably feeling sorry for me!) But I wanted to wait and get the specific drink I was looking forward to.

I glanced down and noticed the pear-flavored water left by my daughter after dance a couple days ago. She didn’t like the taste, and I’d left it in the van. I took a sip.

The coolness slid down my throat. One sip did the trick. I was no longer parched. I was thankful I hadn’t waited any longer. The time passed quickly before I had one of my favorites fountain drinks in the cup holder beside me. 

I’m sure I would have managed a bit longer without a drink. In fact, I can recall times I’ve set aside my thirst until I hardly realized I was thirsty.

I’ve done the same with my spiritual thirst. I feel the thirst. I’m most sensitive to my thirst when I’ve been quenched consistently…when satisfying the thirst is part of my routine. When I have exceptional – or even moderately decent – habits of Bible study, I quickly miss it when I don’t set aside the time. But after a day or two goes by, and my routine adjusts to fill the space, time, and energy of my study time, I don’t feel as parched. I adjust to the thirst so much that I don’t readily realize I’m thirsty.

And the more time that goes by, the more my soul needs nourished, just as my body regularly needs water. But I sometimes ignore what I most need. I’ll push a little further, because I don’t have time, or stopping would be inconvenient, or I just can’t seem to settle on what I want.

Do you ever get into the struggle between what you want and what you need? You think you can’t go to the small group study because it’s not at a convenient time. Have you thought about asking a friend to your house when it is a convenient time? Or you can’t attend a conference because you don’t have someone to watch your kids. Have you considered swapping childcare with another mom, so one can enjoy an event this month and take care of both families’ kids the following month when the other mom gets a day out? Or you just can’t settle on which study to try. You like the topic of one but it’s too detailed. You like the style of another, but not the topic. You like the ease of the DVD-based study, but when will you have time to sit in front of the television for more than ten minutes? Just settle on one and get started! It might not work out perfectly, but you’re definitely not getting anywhere without starting somewhere!

Perhaps your thirst isn’t apparent because you’re temporarily quenching your thirst with quick sips of non-nourishing, non-sustaining drinks. Just like the popular energy drinks give you a boost but won’t nourish you, we tend to grab quick fixes and wonder why we’re parched again after only a short time.

How are you satisfying your thirst today?

The woman said, “I am surprised that you ask me for a drink, since you are a Jewish man and I am a Samaritan woman.” (Jewish people are not friends with Samaritans.)

Jesus said, “If you only knew the free gift of God and who it is that is asking you for water, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

The woman said, “Sir, where will you get this living water? The well is very deep, and you have nothing to get water with. Are you greater than Jacob, our father, who gave us this well and drank from it himself along with his sons and flocks?”

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty. The water I give will become a spring of water gushing up inside that person, giving eternal life.”

 ¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so I will never be thirsty again and will not have to come back here to get more water.” John 4:9-15