Parched

Thirst. What does it mean to have thirst or to thirst for something?  I'm pretty sure all of us can relate to what it means to be thristy.  Webster describes thrist as this:
Thirst

a : a sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat associated with a desire for liquids; also : the bodily condition (as of dehydration) that induces this sensation b : a desire or need to drink

2: an ardent desire : craving, longing <a thirst for success>

I know you're all thinking"duh" we knew that already, and I agree. However, in the past few days, the term thrist has been brought to my attention several times.  Beginning on Saturday, my devtional reading from Ashes to Fire was about the woman at the well, then our pastor spoke about the same story, and then reading my "Devotions for Lent," the same passage was used.  After hearing this passage THREE times in the past few days, I thought," hm, maybe I should blog about it." So today, we are going to talk about being thristy.

I love the definition that states it is a "craving" a "longing," You can almost feel the urgency of this simple word, a deep need to be fulfilled.  I looked up "thirsty" in the keyword search on biblegateway.com to count how many times it's referenced, and then I decided the word "multiple" would capture my point.  Thirst is referred to several times throughout the Bible, most appropriately in the context of both physical and emotional need.  One of my favorite passages is in Psalms 63, where David cries out "My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you. In a dry and weary land where there is no water." You can feel how parched his soul is for God, how desperate he is to be filled and quenched with living water. Even Jesus, in his last hours cries out on the cross "I am thirsty."

In the New Testament, Jesus talks about quenching our thirst with "living water." In John 7:37-38  "Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

I think it's pretty clear that Jesus used the word "thirst" to parallel our human need for Christ because it is a word we can all relate to.  At some point or another, we have all been thristy, we've all desperately needed water.  However, in America, I don't think we even have a clue as to what true thirst feels like.  Whenever we are a bit parched, we can simply go drink clear, clean water.  I think that's how it is in our spiritual lives at times.  It is not as common for us to experience utter dependance on God for all of our needs. Aside from times of trial, we are surrounded by everything we could ever want or need. 

I'm sure that this blurb on thirst is no new revelation to you, but I want to explore it even more over the next few days.  I think it's important for us to be reminded that we need to be thristing for Christ. Tomorrow I would like to look at the story of the woman at the well in more detail, but I feel I've written enough for today.
Hope you have a blessed Tuesday!