Thirsty Hands December 24, 2015

Read John 4:7-14

Psalm 143:6      I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land.

Psalm 42:2     My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

Psalm 63:1     A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah. You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

Psalm 63:4     I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalm 88:9     my eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you.

Isaiah 55:1     "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

As fall transitioned into winter, I had noticed that my hands were feeling tighter. My cuticles were cracking, and the areas between my fingers were dry. Throughout the day I found myself frequently applying lotion and other moisturizers. One morning it finally dawned on me. This was not an external problem but an internal problem. My skin was displaying the results of a lack of water intake.

During different seasons, our internal spiritual lives can also show external signs of thirst. When the cares of life increase, our reading and studying of God’s word may decrease. A once-fervent prayer life can experience drought. The joy of our salvation can be diminished by stress and frustration. In times like these, our spirit cries out in thirst “like a parched land.”

As Jesus promised in today’s reading, spiritual thirst is quenched when we soothe our dry, cracked, irritated souls in the living water that only God can give. As we draw closer and deepen our relationship with God, living water flows in us so that we shall never thirst again.