“Ho, everyone that thirsts, Come ye to the waters;
And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come . . .”
Isaiah 55:1
In the midst of a book containing such strong warnings of imminent judgment addressed to an indifferent people, we find one of the most compelling invitations recorded in the Scriptures.
It is an open invitation addressed to “everyone” who hungers and thirsts desiring to be filled. No other qualification is needed. No other requirement is stated. No other prerequisite is mandatory. The invitation is simply to “come” and to receive freely.
The Scriptures speak to us of a woman who brought her water jugs to a well (John 4:1-30) She was thirsty and looking to satisfy her thirst from the cool, refreshing waters of Jacob’s well. Her need, however, wastoo great and her inner thirst so profound, that natural water from a natural well could hardly satiate such a thirst.
As recorded in John 4, Jesus came to that same well on that day. Although often surrounded by crowds, on that day He came for just that one woman. In fact, His visitation to that woman was so “necessary” that He changed His travel plans that day to pass by the place where the woman came to draw water. And, it was there at the well that He extended the same invitation to her offering her the only water that could indeed satisfy the deep thirst that was in her heart.
To that woman, Jesus made Himself known as the Messiah, as the Christ, (v.25) and offered her living water. He offered her a drink of that water that would truly quench her thirst and would be in her a well of water springing up to everlasting life (v.14). In so doing, He offered her Himself as the only source of eternal life and as the only One who could meet her need and satisfy her longings. In that instant the woman left her water pots behind and went joyfully back in to the city to proclaim to others that she had an encounter with the Lord and many more believed on Him as they also responded to the invitation.
Today, we as believers often look to various sources to quench our inner longings. Being relational, we look to a mate for fulfillment. Being paternal, we expect satisfaction from our children. Being materialistic, we look for bigger and better possessions. Being competitive, we look for positions and recognition. In the end, we remain unfulfilled and questioning why there is so much stress, discontent and frustration in our lives. Yet, a sense of emptiness and frustration is always the invariable outcome in our lives when we attempt to fill the spiritual with the natural.
It is not until we respond to the invitation to drink from the only source of living water, Jesus Christ, that we begin to experience true fulfillment. God’s Word clearly teaches us that there is a river of living water that flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb, Christ Jesus. The water in that river is clear and pure (Rev. 22:1). It ever flows and is the only water that truly cleanses and refreshes the thirsty soul.
The Psalmist had seen thirsty deer in arid areas panting for water. In seeing them, he saw himself and said, “As the deer pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God . . .” (Psa. 41:1-2). He acknowledged that his dwelling place was in a dry and thirsty land, a land void of water. But, he also acknowledged that His God was the source of living waters to satisfy his thirsty soul.
And, what about you? Have you been looking for satisfaction in the wrong places? If so, Jesus is the source of life. As He was available to the thirsty woman at the well and to the Psalmist in his dry, arid land, so He is available to you. As you respond to His invitation to come to Him turning your heart to Him to seek after Him, He will fill you with Himself. And you, as the Psalmist, will rejoice in Him as He quenches your thirst!
