Thirst…

“When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews did not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:7-10

Close your eyes with me, and spend a few minutes picturing this scene. Imagine you get sent into the desert. You are told you must get to Point B all on your own,. You have no resources with you, but just the same you are told to start walking. You are completely on your own and you receive no direction on how this should work; no one will help you succeed on this mission. You are miles from your destination with nothing but dirt and cactus surrounding you, so you simply start putting one foot in front of the other. One step turns into two and slowly you start making your way toward your destination. At first you don’t have any fear that you will complete your quest, but as the day drags on and the sun’s heat becomes more oppressive, dread starts to fill you heart.

You walk for miles. The sun beating down on your head, scorching your shoulders. The heat seems to envelope you,. There is no way to escape. Sweat beads down your forehead. Your mouth gets drier with each step; your tongue starts sticking to the roof of your mouth. With each mile you become more and more desperate for relief. You know this can not be sustained. You body has limits. Fear consumes you, as you start to find the absolute limits of your body. Every part of you screams for water. Every cell demands relief….

Now let me speak a truth to your heart. This picture is your soul without God’s Word. This is your soul when you don’t invest time into your relationship with God. God’s Word is “living water” and without that living water our souls slowly shrivel in the desert of life. Without constant drinking of that water we slowly lose strength, stamina, and eventually our ability to function at all in a manner that glorifies God. Without His “living water” we default back to our old self. We may have received new life when we accepted Jesus as our Savior, but without being renewed and refreshed daily, we slowly slip back into our “default,” our flesh. Now the hard thing about this truth is that we don’t often have an actual physical response. Our bodies tell us when we need refreshment, our souls, however, don’t speak as loudly., Perhaps if they did we would not neglect the spring of “living water” within us, we would know our desperate need for God’s Word!

The reality is that many of us walk around every day with souls that are dying of thirst. And the truly heart wrenching part is that we often don’t even notice it! 

The problem with “soul thirst” is that we can fill or lives with busyness and “things” so that it masks our symptoms at first. The changes can be subtle. Even dangerous. We go from depending on God and His strength, to operating on our own, no longer seeking God in our day-to-day lives. Jesus describes His “living water” this way:

“Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14)

We will always have the blessing of eternal life once we have accepted Jesus, but we still live in bodies that rage against God’s desires for us. So we must be responsible for continuing to go to that “spring” daily to refresh and reset our souls. As humans, we can go days filling ourselves only with what the world says is true, and sadly, we don’t notice as our souls get more and more parched. We aren’t going to our spring of “living water,” and as a consequence we are getting filled only with the world and sin. Neither of which can actually quench our thirst. Instead, they merely numb our pain. Sin, in fact, is so deceitful that it bathes our soul with counterfeit water, making us feel like we are living from the true well of “living water.” It’s so subtle that we can start getting “life” and fulfillment from the world instead of our God, which dries our souls to the point of fracture.

We always have the option of going to “living water.” Water that brings life. That sustains. Gives strength. Quenches a deep need within our hearts, but instead we find ourselves being tricked by sin’s fake refreshment. It doesn’t last, but if we are not careful, we will seek the fix for our “soul thirst” here, with counterfeit water, instead of at the spring of “living water” that God offers each of us! This beautiful gift that is God’s Word.

The blessing to my circumstances is that I have never in my life felt my desperate need for God’s truth in such an acute way. If I go even a day without filling my heart with Gods truth the lies of this world and the enemy become debilitating. I almost immediately recognize my need for God’s living water, because without it I find my soul as dry as the Sahara. Instead of thoughts of trust and peace, my head becomes a jumble of sorrow and sadness. I start dwelling on all the things I will miss out on, on my pain. My thoughts are peppered with questions and anger. The enemy does a number on my heart…

Will my nephews even remember me?

Why won’t I get to be there for birthdays, weddings,  and celebrations for my friends and family?

Why do I have to go through this chemo that is so exhausting and debilitating?

If I am not CONSTANTLY replenishing my heart with Gods truth these thoughts would crush me. They would keep me in a pile of tears everyday, unable to function. But when I fill my heart with God’s Word and most importantly God’s hope, I can face my reality with strength! What a blessing to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I NEED GODS WORD! This doesn’t change my reality, but it does allow me to see it through different eyes. Eyes that see the whole picture- a picture that spans eternity, with many hearts and souls who need to hear about the kind of loving and all-powerful God we serve! I can look through lenses that show me that my suffering, no matter how painful, is still temporary. And I can speak truth into my circumstances! Saying: 

God is good.

God is faithful.

God loves me deeply. 

And because of Gods faithfulness, He reminds me that no matter the result of my journey here on earth, whether 5 years or 50- My greatest joy will be spending eternity with my Heavenly Father! I NEED His word to continue to remind me of God’s promises. I NEED to continue to spend time at the spring of “living water!” I NEED to be refreshed and replenished each day with God’s truth, so I am not seduced by the world and it’s lies. As much as I wish I could be faithful to remember these truths on my own, experience has taught me that my heart is fickle and forgetful. If I am not constantly replenished by Gods Word, refreshed and renewed, I surely will forget Gods promises to me. And forgetfulness is a universal condition. Each and every one of us has to seek out God’s presence and His truth so we do not default to our flesh and it’s desires that try to direct our choices and steps.

My prayer is that ALL BELIEVERS would come to a greater understanding of just how desperately we NEED Gods Word. That we would not require suffering or trial to be reminded that Gods Word is the only “living water.” The only water that truly quenches our soul thirst! We require God’s Word to replace all the fear and lies that try to infiltrate our hearts each day! We are not capable of fighting these on our own. And thankfully, God has not asked us too. Instead, He has given us a constant spring of “living water” to drink from each day, His Word. He has given us somewhere to go to drink deeply and be renewed. Oh the grace of our loving Father! So friends, learn from my journey. Know that you too need God’s Word as desperately as I do, each and every day. God desires to encourage your heart, to speak to you of His love and care! Take the time to soak in this “living water” and be refreshed! His grace is ready for you. He will give you just enough for today….

10 thoughts on “Thirst…

  1. Thank you Demrie. Such a great reminder for me, for my thirst. It’s so true. Each time I look at the key chain of yours I bought at the dinner, I think of the depths of what you are going through. “Storms make trees take deeper roots”. Your roots are deep. I am blessed by your words. Love you.

  2. Hi Demri,
    we’ve never met and yet I feel that I “know” you. Haley (Dudley) is my son Silas’ class teacher. And I first heard of you from Silas, who has told us about you and who’s been wanting to pray for you. So now we, as a family, pray for you.
    I signed up to get your posts last week and just got my first e-mail from you.
    Thank you for sharing your story / your journey!! Thank you for the vivid picture of “dying of thirst in the desert”! How true!!
    We will continue to pray for your healing, but ultimately for God’s will to be done in and through you.
    Blessings,
    Anne

  3. Hi Demrie,

    Thanks for sharing your journey and sharing the tough lessons you are learning. My heart hurts to hear of your cancer, but I am encouraged and challenged by your resilience and unwavering faith in our God and Savior. I am praying for you.

    In Him,

    Taylor Henry

  4. Yes, so true! God’s Living Word speaks of our Living Savior, Who is the Living Hope for each who will trust and follow Him!! am reminded of Jeremiah’s “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope & confidence is in Him.They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream”. Your life is a beautiful tree with your roots going deeper and deeper in His living water! thanks so much for sharing the “fruit” with us! georgia

    1. That is a passage I go back to regularly Georgia! Definitely need the reminder to keep growing deeper roots!

  5. Thank you Demrie. Keep writing.
    I loved my key spoon, too. “Sit with me under the stars”
    I carried it in my pocket.
    Then God told me to give it to someone, He had plans to use it for His Glory,……and it hurts… and I did.
    And I hope….and pray so many times in a day I can not count them…..so, keep writing.
    And I will.

  6. Demrie,
    This is so true! I know how much I miss it when I’m not in the word so I greatly appreciate your words of wisdom. I can’t even imagine how hard this journey for you would be without God’s word to keep your thoughts on him and trusting him to lead you through each day. A lesson for all of us to not take his word, the bible, for granted!!!

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