Thirst Relief

If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink. John 7:37b

I often think of this verse as an invitation for salvation. But now I am coming to realize its daily significance and necessity. The phrase "come to me" strikes me. Many times we tend to fill our lives with various activities and relationships. Even as Christians, we have a list of sources meant to make us feel better on bad days. But I am finding that although they might bring temporary relief they do not possess the ability to meet my needs on a permanent basis.

Jesus didn't say, "If you are thirsty go to church, read a book, call a friend, or get busy." He said, "Come to Me." It is a personal invitation He makes to each of us so that we might have an intimate relationship with Him. How precious this becomes when you realize that one definition for thirst is an ardent desire, craving, or longing. His invitation has no limits or exclusions.
I cannot quench my own thirst. I picture myself coming to Jesus with cup in hand. I drink from His life. He quenches the thirst in me that goes deep. The question is, "How quickly will I go to Him with my needs"?

When I am lonely He wants to be my companion. When I am tired he wants to be my rest. When I am fearful He wants to be my shelter. When I am weak He wants to be my strength. In other words, whatever my needs he wants to be the meeter of them.

My day must start with taking long, hard drinks from Scripture. It is my spiritual breakfast as I take in a portion of what He has prepared for me for that particular day. But throughout the day I become aware of my thirst in various areas. So once again I find myself needing to return to Him for yet another drink.

Isaiah 12:3 says it beautifully. Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation. Each time I meet with Jesus it is like I am taking my bucket and filling it at His spring. There is no limit or time constraint when it comes to the number of times I come to Him and drink. May it be often!

Father, Your invitations throughout Scripture are meant for me today. May I internalize all that You have for me today. Amen.

A Source of Comfort

Then you will say on that day, I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. Isaiah 12:1

I love seeing the heart of God in Scripture. For years I would read a verse like this and only see the phrase, "You were angry with me." I know what it is like to be around people who are displeased with me, irritated with me, and just plain angry with me. My response is usually to avoid them if there doesn't seem to be a way to get on their good side. They are the last people I would seek comfort and encouragement from.

On the other hand, I know the people I feel safe with and would easily turn to for comfort and reassurance. Their hugs would be sincere and their soothing words would reach my spirit. True comfort would come because they know my story and don't hold it against me.

I take delight in the fact that while there will be days God is angry with my actions, He is also the One to comfort me. Once the anger is spent and the discipline is complete, He is the One who can make me feel better deep down inside. Whether it is relief from pain, shame, or difficulties, it is His arms that remind me I am His child and He still delights in me.

When I think of being comforted, I think of a person's arms around me and hearing them speak words of assurance to me. The odd part is that I don't usually seek the comfort from someone I have offended or angered. If I got into trouble as a child my experience was to keep my distance until the offense was forgotten or the anger had subsided. As a parent, my heart breaks to see my children respond in the same way.

God is different. The very One who gets angry at me is the One who comforts me.

Father, Your arms never fail to be open and Your heart never stops desiring reconciliation. I come to You! Amen.

Choose and Refuse

He will eat curds and honey at the time he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good. Isaiah 7:15

Go into a grocery store and choices abound. Although we may have our reasons for purchasing certain items one thing cannot be denied. Buying something implies that I refused other things. Eating abounds with choices as well. Whether my selections of food are good for me or not I still refuse some foods as I choose others. The list could go on and on ~ houses, cars, friends, clothes. My life is full of choices I make daily. Refusing and choosing is an on going process.

The Lord points out an important feature for me to be aware of...refuse evil and choose good. What a concept to instill in our children and to embrace for ourselves. If truly lived out, think of the ramifications that would follow. How different our actions and attitudes would be if we simply applied this principle of refusing evil and choosing good to the choices we make each day.
I must ask myself how it would affect my conversations, my treatment of people, my television viewing, my job performance, my driving, my family life....the list is endless. I would venture to say the change would be noticeable. Think of what it would do to gossip, impatient responses to loved ones, treatment of enemies, desires for revenge, and response when things do not go my way.

People who know me well know that I love to look words up in the dictionary. It's like shining a light in a darkened room. So once again I have decided to get a better understanding of these two words. In light of what I've written so far, meanings become even more precious.

Refuse means "unwillingness to accept, do or comply with. Deny, give up, renounce." And my favorite is "to withhold acceptance, compliance, or permission." All are good ways to respond to evil.

Choose is also rich with meaning. It means "to select freely, to decide on, to have a preference for, to take an alternative." That should be my desire for good. And Scripture is full of verses that start with the word choose. May I choose and refuse wisely today.

Today, Father, I want Your principle of refusing and choosing to guide my steps, decisions, and activities. May the results astound me! Amen.

Just Ask

Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven. Isaiah 7:11

We have a God who loves to lavish us with Himself! In Isaiah 7, God has just finished telling Ahaz not to be afraid because He is going to bring down his enemies. God was aware of the threats on His people and He was aware of the fear His people walked in. I love His answer! Basically He says, "I know your situation. Don't be afraid. I will handle this for you." Then instead of a message on trust He opens the door for Ahaz to request a sign for himself and lets him know there is no limit to the invitation.

God understands our weaknesses and frailties. He is not offended when we are in need of assurance. Gideon was a man who knew how to ask God for evidence of His direction. We too can ask God to confirm things for us. I have a dear friend who is teaching me the wisdom of asking God to confirm whether or not she is making wise choices in matters. She says He often does this in threes. It helps me to see God as a meeter of individual needs. Right in today's verse He says, "Ask a sign for yourself." I think of all the miracles in Scripture that were performed for an audience of one. God does not need a large number of people before He shows up. He delights in one on one meetings. How rare that is in great leaders or popular people.

I also love the fact that God does not limit what can be asked of Him ~ deep as Sheol and high as heaven. It is like asking for a drink of water and being given an artisan well. He is willing to go to great lengths to bring assurance to His children.

There are times that assurance may come as I stand on the promises made in His Word. But there are also times God graciously shows me visible signs and confirmation of His direction. Many times He'll even choose people to guide my steps.

Today may be a day I get extravagant in my requests of Him. How precious to know my requests are not met with a Scrooge mentality. I take comfort in the instances where people in the Bible were granted extraordinary answers. May I join them!

Father, may my view of You continue to be enlarged. For decades I missed seeing Your kind heart, willing interventions, and abundant availability. I lived in spiritual poverty and blindness. Thank you for riches and eyesight that leave me speechless. Amen.

Rich Conversations

Hear the word of the LORD.....give ear unto the law of our God. Isaiah 1:10

Isn't it remarkable how we can be in a room full of people and we only hear what we are tuned in to listen to? If I am involved in a conversation I am not really interested in, my ears will begin to search out other voices in the room. Although I may still be talking with the same person, I am straining to hear the other conversations. My relationship to and feelings for the person I am talking with have a lot to do with how receptive I am to what they are saying.

In the same way, my desire to hear what God has to tell me is a measure of my relationship with Him and my feelings toward Him. But many times His words fall on deaf ears as I strain to hear other people in my life. He knows whether or not He has my undivided attention. His heart is grieved when His conversation with me does not take priority.

He longs for communion with His children. He has much to say to us through His word and in prayer. Am I tuned in to Him? Am I hanging on every word and walking away savoring the time we spent together?

He not only wants me to hear what He is saying, He wants me to take it in, mull it over, digest it thoroughly , and live off the feast all day long. Each time I meet with Him is meant to be a feast I freely partake in. His words are meant to be health to my very bones.

I often reference my friendships as ways to measure my connection with God. I have several close friends who literally speak life into me. Conversations with them leave me feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Their words play over and over again in my mind long after our conversation has ended or their email has been read. I find myself anticipating the next time we can sit down together indulge in rich fellowship.

THAT is the way I want it to be with God. THAT is God's desire as well. Jesus said if I ask anything according to my Father's will He will do it for me. This is a guarantee concerning having conversations with God being better than even those with my closest friends.

God, I want that!!!! Amen!

Touching God's Heart

Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. Haggai 1:8

God derives pleasure and glory when we obey. What a thought! And the opposite has to be true as well, disobedience brings displeasure and robs Him of glory. The Bible is full of commands for us to obey. Practical daily principles are ours to embrace and follow. Each act of obedience no matter how small brings God both pleasure and glory. Others may not notice it but God never misses an act of kindness, mercy, love, sacrifice or compassion.

It reminds me of times I have been in a crowd of people looking for one familiar face. There is instant joy and delight when my eyes finally lock with the person I am searching for. God too is looking for the moments of obedience and easily spots each one. Like a miner panning for gold, they stand out to God as precious treasures.

It use to be so easy to see Him as a God who took more notice of my sin than my sterling moments. I was blind to the fact that I could even bring God pleasure. I now rejoice in the thought that while He casts my sin behind His back and discards it in the depths of the sea, He remembers the times I have actually obeyed Him and joined His heart. In eternity He will reveal the things He took notice of and I will marvel at what things in my life brought Him pleasure and glory.

Within the next 24 hours how many opportunities await me to bring Him delight? So often we forget it is not about waiting for eternal rewards ~ though they certainly await us. But rather it is in knowing that right here and now I can touch the heart of God as surely as He touches mine.

Father, the fact that You are affected by my actions astounds me! May I bring You much pleasure today! Amen.

Futile Living

You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes. Thus says the LORD of hosts, Consider you ways. Haggai 1:6,7

It is easy to pour our energies into something only to have the results come up insufficient for what we hoped for. People are capable of doing the right things without gaining the full benefits.
My younger brother, Timmy, was born with Cystic Fibrosis in 1970. He died at the tender age of 9. His physical condition pictured this verse so well. Before he was diagnosed with CF he was literally starving to death. Although we fed him, his body could not properly digest the food. He ate but received no nutritional value from the food. Upon being properly diagnosed he was put on medication that compensated for his physical weakness.

In the spiritual realm we must come to the place of realizing we too are malnourished and in need of God's compensation. When I spent decades living my Christian life out of fear, duty, and performance the emptiness and frustration were waiting to envelope me. God had to teach me to take an honest look at my way of living the Christian life. There were several reasons for my unsatisfactory results.

I had a wrong view of God for one. I saw Him as a harsh judge with love that was dependent on what I did for him. I cannot tell you the freedom that engulfed me when I realized His love was unconditional. My actions would not diminish or increase His love for me.

I depended on other Christians to define my Christian life for me. I felt better if my standards came from them. My Christian life had been reduced to the external rather than the internal world. God always desires that our hearts would affect our actions....not the other way around. The denominational walls were built, versions of the Bible were suspect, and music was VERY limited. It had become a recipe for disaster.

Father, You wanted me to know there was abundant freedom if I would just open my hands to receive all You had for me. I do so with joy! Amen.