“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” John 7:37 Have you ever been thirsty, really thirsty? There are times when nothing will satisfy like a nice cold glass of clear pure water. We have all heard stories about the pioneers crossing the desert. Many times they would get so thirsty that they would begin to hallucinate. They would see what they thought was water and begin running towards it, only to realize that it was a mirage. How disappointed they became as they collapsed on the parched earth.

In the Word of God, there are many references made to the word thirst and thirsty. In Psalms 42, David wrote: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? David had a sincere desire for more of God. He likened it to a natural thirst. When we continue to read that chapter, we realize his desperation, like the desperation of a man crossing a desert.

Nobody bothers to drink unless he is thirsty. People do not read unless they have a thirst for knowledge. And people do not attend church unless they are “thirsty for more of God.” Do you want more of God or are you just satisfied to make it on your own? Jesus was teaching the people in Matthew 5. He said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

We need to sit down and evaluate what we are thirsty for. Is it man’s recognition, more money, a bigger house, a new sports car, or more of God? What is really important in life? What will have eternal value? A good sign outside our church would be: ‘All who are thirsty, come!’ When we drink of the water that Christ gives, we will forget about all the things that we naturally desire. He satisfies the longing of the heart. The struggle for man’s recognition vanishes in the Presence of the Lord.