This morning I woke up pretty thirsty. Perhaps it’s the whole wintry dry air that has caused this or perhaps something else, but I just needed a tall glass of ice water right away this morning. And that water really made a difference. No more thirst, at least not right away. But I do know that shortly after I finish this post, I’ll just be thirsty again. 

MercyMe has a song titled All Who Are Thirsty. It’s not the same thirst that I experience this morning when I woke up. It’s a different kind of thirst. In this world we all get thirsty for things. We thirst for power, money, that thinner me. We thirst for things that we think can be found if we just try harder or dig deeper into our strong wills. But truth be told, no matter how hard we try or how much of the world’s power water we drink – we’ll just want more. It will never really satisfy us.

So if these things don’t work, then what will? Simple actually. And I know this is going to sound a bit foolish but the only thing that will truly take away that thirsty longing for significance is a steady diet of the things of God. Stick with me for a minute – don’t just dismiss this as some ridiculous nonsense from a crazy Jesus follower who woke up too early this morning.

Give it a minute and think about it. You’ve been thirsty for something for a long time. You’ve tried all kinds of things to quench that thirst. You went for the new job because you were thirsty for a change. You went after a life of wild nights because you were thirsty for a good time. You tried to quench your thirst with a bottle or a drug and yet you seem to never have that thirst quenched. You thirst for a better looking you, so you diet and exercise only to find out the you that you were pursuing is actually someone else. You never seem to be able to catch up. You never seem to be able to find satisfaction in this world. And quite frankly, as long as you’re looking to quench your thirst with temporary things – you’ll always find a new thirst right around the corner.

Now suspend your disbelief for just a few more minutes. What if you could find a thirst quenching drink that came not from a bottle on a shelf, or a drug (legal or otherwise)? What if you found that your thirst could be satisfied by a simple relationship instead of a multitude of one night stands?

This song All Who Are Thirsty really doesn’t talk at all about thirsting but it really hits the nail on the head. We do thirst but it’s pretty simple to get that thirst satisfied. Our thirst is best satisfied by taking a walk. No, not a normal walk down a well-lit road, but a walk through the pages of the bible. Take a walk. Journey into a relationship with the words of the bible. I know this sounds a little intimidating but anyone can do it. Open it up and just start reading. Not sure where to start? That’s ok. An easy starting point is the book of John. Not sure if you want to dig in that deep to start? That’s cool too – how about a verse a day? Where you start isn’t the issue. How much you read isn’t really the deal breaker either. The point is the journey, the relationship that is established as you get to know a little more about the character of the one in the story.

You see the bible has a basic theme, or  plot line. It’s pretty simple actually. It’s all about God’s relentless pursuit of his, at times, wayward children. God wants nothing more than for you to know about him. So that’s it. It’s really that simple. A verse a day. A chapter each morning. A reading program that takes you through part of the bible every year. Whatever it is, just start somewhere and drink it in. Then you too will likely sing along with the words of this song.