What Are You Thirsty For?
Readings for the Day
Jeremiah 1-2, John 10
Verses for the Day
My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
Thoughts for the Day
As the book of Jeremiah begins, we see young Jeremiah is called from birth from his mother's womb, to be God's spokesperson to the Isarelites. Although he is young, God assures him he will be with him, and commands him to speak what he reveals to him no matter what. The central thrust is that Israel has forgotten their first love for God that they had at the beginning of their journey as a people.
God asks them why they had stopped trusting in him after all the miracles he had done for them in Egypt. Then, in the verses above, Jeremiah summarizes the message God has for them. They have not only forsaken God, but they have assumed that they could provide for themselves in better ways. Jeremiah compares the fresh, living water God gives, with their cracked, underground cisterns. A cistern was a containers dug into the ground that hold water. It got brackish and dirty and evaporated over time.
One devotional writer uses this analogy,
It’s like this. We’re hopelessly lost in the desert, dying of thirst, seeking anything to quench our parched, dry throats. We see a kiosk with big flashing neon lights, and God is holding up a sign that says, “Living Water Available Here.” Yet we say, “No, thanks, God! Appreciate the offer, but I see a shovel over there. Think I’ll dig my own cistern!”
I don't know how it plays out in your life but here's how it goes in my life. When something goes wrong, instead of turning to prayer or getting into God's word. I try to solve the problem myself. When I can't solve it, or others aren't helpful, I get frustrated at them or myself. Then, instead of getting the help I need from God, I turn to other temporary fixes to feel better. They make me feel better temporarily but it is like drinking cistern water, I am still thirsty and tired. They don't satisfy. It is at this time God whispers in my ear, "Why are you waiting so long to come to me? I want to give you abundant life and living water, but if you will not seek me out, you won't find it."
So here is something to think about today. What are your underground cisterns? Where do you go when you think God is not going to provide what you need? How is that going for you? Have you forgotten what the living water tastes like? Jesus says to us today,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. 14But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
Jeremiah 1-2, John 10
Verses for the Day
My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
Thoughts for the Day
As the book of Jeremiah begins, we see young Jeremiah is called from birth from his mother's womb, to be God's spokesperson to the Isarelites. Although he is young, God assures him he will be with him, and commands him to speak what he reveals to him no matter what. The central thrust is that Israel has forgotten their first love for God that they had at the beginning of their journey as a people.
God asks them why they had stopped trusting in him after all the miracles he had done for them in Egypt. Then, in the verses above, Jeremiah summarizes the message God has for them. They have not only forsaken God, but they have assumed that they could provide for themselves in better ways. Jeremiah compares the fresh, living water God gives, with their cracked, underground cisterns. A cistern was a containers dug into the ground that hold water. It got brackish and dirty and evaporated over time.
One devotional writer uses this analogy,
It’s like this. We’re hopelessly lost in the desert, dying of thirst, seeking anything to quench our parched, dry throats. We see a kiosk with big flashing neon lights, and God is holding up a sign that says, “Living Water Available Here.” Yet we say, “No, thanks, God! Appreciate the offer, but I see a shovel over there. Think I’ll dig my own cistern!”
I don't know how it plays out in your life but here's how it goes in my life. When something goes wrong, instead of turning to prayer or getting into God's word. I try to solve the problem myself. When I can't solve it, or others aren't helpful, I get frustrated at them or myself. Then, instead of getting the help I need from God, I turn to other temporary fixes to feel better. They make me feel better temporarily but it is like drinking cistern water, I am still thirsty and tired. They don't satisfy. It is at this time God whispers in my ear, "Why are you waiting so long to come to me? I want to give you abundant life and living water, but if you will not seek me out, you won't find it."
So here is something to think about today. What are your underground cisterns? Where do you go when you think God is not going to provide what you need? How is that going for you? Have you forgotten what the living water tastes like? Jesus says to us today,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. 14But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
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