By  Sarah Damm

 

 

“but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty.
The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” ~ John 4:14

   

As I enter a time of lectio divina, I find myself walking on the beach near the ocean’s edge. The salty water comes onto shore and goes out to sea. The repetitive rhythm stills my heart, and I breathe in deeply.

I see someone in the distance waiting for me. As I draw near, I notice it is Jesus.

Jesus Waits For Me

The reality that Jesus waits for me on the beach, in my holy imagination, is striking. And as I pray with the familiar story about the woman at the well, I realize Jesus waits for her, too.

And isn’t that just His way? To wait for us?

He waits for us because He thirsts for us. He longs to give us living water so we “will never thirst.” Because His water is “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (v. 14)

In my own prayer time, when I reach Jesus, His gaze pierces right through my heart. I feel no shame, no uncertainty—nothing but love.

We wade ankle-deep in the ocean. We talk. We fall into silence.

Suddenly, Jesus smiles mischievously and pulls me into a run. We dash into the ocean, and a gentle, giant wave crashes over us. When I come up from the shock of submersion, I find Jesus laughing. His laugh is so contagious I start laughing, too.

I feel refreshed and renewed, quenched by living water.

Jesus Desires to Quench My Thirst

Can you even imagine being so satisfied, so quenched by the love of God, that nothing else is even appealing?

Too often, I am attached to worldly things that only fulfill me for moments. And yet, I keep going back to them, hoping to be completely satisfied and quenched, but I never am.

And yet, He is always waiting to give me what He promises and knows will truly satisfy me if only I can take Him at His Word.

Jesus Thirsts for Me

As I float in the salty water, I marvel that the One who created such beauty desires to spend time with me.

Because He waits for me, He thirsts for me.

Yes, my Lord and my God thirsts for me!

What do I do with that reality? How do I respond to the fact that Jesus not only thirsts for me but also chooses to be vulnerable enough to ask me to quench His thirst?

The answer comes easily. I am to do just what I am doing. To meet Him where He waits for me: in prayer.

Knowing I satisfy Jesus’ thirst through my prayer time with Him, even when I don’t feel anything, is reason alone to pray. Knowing that through prayer, through honest conversation with Him—as the Samaritan woman had on that hot day so long ago—I, too, will be quenched. My longings are satisfied by the living water only Jesus provides.

 

 

Prayer

Jesus, I trust that you can and will satisfy the deepest desires of my heart with living water. May I also quench your thirst for me through time alone with you in prayer. Amen.

Call to Action

 Today, spend time considering the desires of your heart. What do you want? How can Jesus satisfy those deep longings?

 

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