For many years I spent my vacations hiking in the Smoky Mountains. One day I was really excited to hike in a part of the park that I had never been to before. I planned the day and took all my supplies for what I thought was a 7-8 mile loop hike. When I got to the first stop, a fire tower, I thought, wow that took me longer than I thought. It was no real problem because that had been the uphill section that would have been more strenuous and time consuming, it was all going to be downhill from there. I set off after lunch and while the next big section was downhill, it was downhill through an old dry riverbed which meant climbing over boulders in the direct sunlight. That took me most of the afternoon.
When I finally made a turn and started to head back to the trailhead, I realized something was wrong. I had already gone well over 8 miles and I was nowhere close to being done. I got out the map and calculated the hike again and realized I was off, by a lot. The hike wasn’t 8 miles, it was closer to 15 and I had a long way to go. I had no water left, one granola bar, and I was already hot and tired. I had no choice but to keep going, but I got slower and slower. Soon I started to feel pretty sick.
I finally sat down on a log and contemplated just sleeping in the woods for the night because I had completely crashed. As I sat there, I picked out a tree down the trail and hiked to that tree, and then sat down again. I kept going this way for hours because I knew that if I could make it back to my car, I had several bottles of water. When I finally saw my car in the distance, I was a mess. I was exhausted, sick to my stomach, sunburned, dehydrated, and barely able to walk, and if you had asked me how it was going, I would have said, I Thirst.
It’s one of the few times in my life when I was completely empty of everything. I was not only physically thirsty, but hungry, exhausted, alone, and scared because of how bad I felt and unsure if I would even make it back to my car at all. Those two words expressed so much, and those are two words that Jesus said as he hung on the cross. I thirst.
We are in a series called red letter day because in many Bibles the words of Jesus are printed in red ink, but these final words of Jesus were spoken while his red blood was literally flowing down the cross. After hours of hanging on the cross, Jesus spoke these two words, and since that red letter day, people have been asking, what did He mean? Was He really just thirsty - or was there something more going on? While these words are packed with meaning, I also think Jesus was physically thirsty.
Think of all that Jesus had just been through. He had been betrayed in the middle of the night and then hauled before religious and political leaders until noon the next day. He had no sleep, no food, and no water. He was exhausted and dehydrated. He was then subjected to severe beatings which meant he lost more fluid and a lot of blood. When it came time to nail Him to the cross, which He carried to Golgotha, Jesus was physically exhausted and completely empty. Jesus was physically thirsty and in these two words we hear the humanity of Jesus come through.
If you have ever sat with a loved one who was dying, you know that they often get very thirsty. Family, friends, or maybe a nurse will often bring those little swabs that you can soak in water and then place in their mouth so that the worst of the thirst is satisfied. This is part of what is going on with Jesus. He is a man physically dying and in these words we see His humanity. Jesus was thirsty. While He was the Son of God, the word of God incarnate, literally God in human form, He was also a man, and these words remind us that Jesus suffered just like we do. He knows what it's like to be empty and thirsty and alone and scared, just like we do. We can find comfort in knowing that Jesus knows our pain, we are not alone.
As much as Jesus is physically thirsty, there is more going on here. This cry reminds us of Psalm 42:1-3.
As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, “Where is your God?”
A thirst for God is also what Jesus longs for. John 19:28-29
After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth.
John says that Jesus knew that everything had been finished, which means that Jesus had taken on Himself the sin of the world, and the penalty for that sin was separation from God. So Jesus isn’t just physically thirsty, He is longing for His Father. An eternal relationship between Father and Son had been broken and Jesus thirsts for God. Just as He cried out, My God, My God why have you forsaken me, when our sin separated Jesus from the Father, so now He cries out, thirst… for God. As the deer longs of water, so Jesus is longing for His Father. When will He once again behold the face of His Father.
In this moment, Jesus is longing for God, and these 7 red letters, I Thirst, lead me to ask, what is it that I thirst for in life? What is it that I long for? Am I longing for more of God or more of the world? Jesus said, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, but is righteousness what we thirst for? Do we long for a right relationship with God, and a relationship with God that grows deeper and more personal day by day? Do we long for right relationships with those around us? Do we work for reconciliation and peace? Do we freely offer and receive forgiveness? Do we long for and work for righteousness in the world or do we just long to fill ourselves up with things that will benefit us? Are we thirsting for God and God’s kingdom, or do we want things like wealth, power, success, and security. What do we really thirst for?
As I was alone and hiking through the growing dusk of the Smoky Mountains, I had one focus - the water that I knew was in my car. If I could just get to that water, I would be ok. If I could drink that water, I would be strengthened and healed. I have asked myself this week, why don’t I live with that same drive and desire for living water? And is there a way I can increase my thirst for God?
I want to share three things we can focus on this week that can increase our thirst for God. The first is Humility. As long as we think we have it all together and know all the answers, we will never thirst for God. As long as we rely upon our own wisdom, our own strength, our own abilities, we will never thirst for God. If we are constantly filling ourselves up we will never thirst for God. God tells us this in Jeremiah 2:13, My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
Drinking from our own wells, or trusting in our strength, wisdom, and power will always leave us empty, but thirsting for God, turning to God for living water is what fills us up. So let’s stop trying to do it all on our own and humble ourselves before God.
This week, let’s take a good solid look at our lives and own up to our own shortcomings and sin. Let’s not look to blame others for our failures, or make excuses for the ways we have failed to be who God has called us to be, let’s acknowledge both our sin and our need, our thirst, for a savior.
One of the first things Adam and Eve did after they disobeyed God was to blame someone else for their problems. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent, and as long as they were blaming someone else, they couldn’t see their need for God. As long as we hold onto pride, we are hiding from God, but if we can humble ourselves and confess our sin, then we start seeing the need we have for God’s grace. While it’s not easy to reflect on our shortcomings, and own up to and confess our sin, it is how we begin to empty ourselves and start thirsting for God.
A second thing we can practice to increase our thirst for God is Gratitude. One of the interesting things about gratitude is that once we begin to give thanks for who God is, and what God has done for us and given us, the more we see of who God is, and what God has done for us and given to us. So to help us see more of God and thirst more for God, let’s begin to thank God for what we see and what we have. Even in the midst of all the frustrations and limitations we are facing, let’s keep giving thanks and allow God to show us more of who He is.
The third thing that can help increase our thirst for God is Service. What is interesting about serving others is that it both humbles us and makes us more grateful. I have never come back from any kind of mission trip, or time of serving others, without being grateful for all God has given me, and humbled by how much I take for granted. Serving those in need, or serving in the church, draws us closer to God and at the same time increases our desire to be closer to God.
Serving others also begins to place the lives and needs of others before our own, it is a way of emptying ourselves so that we thirst more for God. While covid once again has limited our ability to serve, I would invite you to consider one way you and your family might be able to serve over the next few weeks. Help a neighbor, or reach out to someone who lives alone and encourage them.
Maybe serving others can mean financially supporting a mission. Something we could all do for the next 4 weeks is to think about how much money we spend on drinks during the month and then give that same amount to the food bank to help feed those who are hungry, or to a well drilling program to help provide clean water for those in need. I am always amazed at how giving and serving opens up in me a deeper desire to connect to God, and know more of God’s love and grace and be part of God’s power at work in the world. Serving helps us truly thirst for God.
Thirsting for God doesn’t have to come only when we are in a crisis. It doesn’t have to come when we hit rock bottom, or feel separated from God. Thirsting for God can and should be an ongoing part of our lives as we humble ourselves, give thanks, and serve others. If this can be our focus each and every day, not only will we thirst for God, but that thirst will be quenched by living water.
Next Steps
Red Letter Day - I Thirst
When have you been completely empty, dehydrated, or thirsty?
Read John 19:28-30
List all the things that led to Jesus being physically thirsty?
What does the phrase “knowing that everything had now been finished” mean? What had been finished? What did that mean for Jesus?
In what ways do you currently thirst for God?
How do you currently hunger and thirst for righteousness? (See Matthew 5:6)
Three ways to develop a thirst for God:
Humility
● Spend time reflecting on your sin. (Don’t get caught up in shame or guilt but use this time to see your need for a Savior)
● Where do you tend to blame others instead of accepting responsibility?
Thanksgiving
● Make a list each day of what you are thankful for.
● Give thanks to God for all you identify.
● How can your gratitude lead to humility and service?
Service
● How can you and your family serve someone this week?
● Consider making a donation to the food bank or to well drilling in Sierra Leone between now and Easter.
