Water Makes Me Thirsty!

Hi there, my sweet friend! I hope you’re having a refreshing day and staying cool. It’s not an easy thing to do here in Texas in the summertime, but we do our best by wearing less clothes (not that many less! Goodness!) and drinking lots of water.

I am dieting again, but this time I think I am finally going to make it. I’m finally close to my goal weight, and I’m so determined to make it last this time. The difference is that I am exercising every day, keeping a food diary, and drinking more water. Well, that last one is something I still struggle with – drinking enough water. It’s not that I dislike water. It’s just that I like other drinks better, including coffee, which I love to drink every morning.  So, putting more plain, boring water into my day hasn’t been something I look forward to.

Luckily, my daughter Leslie introduced me to a TikTok challenge called “WaterTok,” where people add small amounts of sugar-free syrups or packets to their water to add a bit of flavor.  It has been fun to experiment with different flavors. Leslie and I now have an arsenal of sugar-free flavors to use.  Just that tiny bit of flavor in my big 44-ounce tumbler has really increased my water consumption. I was suspicious of a flavor called “Mermaid,” but it is now one of my favorites. It is a pineapple-coconut combination and one tablespoon in my big tumbler is all I need.

I told myself I would never encourage influencer behavior, but I have to admit the recipe ideas on TikTok are fun (some a bit odd, and some pretty good). Here’s a link to give you an idea: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/watertok

I know there are many studies about the health benefits of drinking lots of water, including the fact that it can help one lose weight faster. Here is a link to a Healthline article about the benefits of drinking water. That by itself should be strong motivation. So, why do we still struggle with drinking it? (https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/why-is-water-important)

Good Water Turned Bad

Sometimes due to weather issues, low water levels at the local lakes, or technical problems at a filtration plant, a city will issue a warning that the tap water isn’t safe to drink and must be boiled before consuming it. That is a major hassle to do. How quickly something we take for granted can turn into a health risk!

Water is the essence of life. When God created the world, he created water on the second day. It was important right from the beginning. Water is a part of every living thing.

The thing about water is – you always need more. It satisfies, but only temporarily. In fact, if you think about it, our need for water makes us thirsty again!

Jesus Has Special Water

One of my favorite Bible stories is about a special kind of water. When Jesus was on Earth, he had many unusual encounters – with demon-possessed lunatics, rich rulers, hypocritical religious leaders, many sick, blind and deaf people, even dead folks that he brought back to life! But one meeting not only changed someone’s life, but her whole town as well.

There was a woman in the Samaritan town of Sychar who had a life-changing encounter with Jesus at the town’s water well. The story is told in John 4 and is the longest recorded dialog with Jesus in the Bible. We aren’t told the woman’s name, but there are some facts we do learn from the story.

First a little background, Jews did not like Samaritans. In fact, they despised them so much that they refused to go through Samaria when traveling between Galilee and Judea (see the map). They would add extra hours to their trip just to avoid the Samaritans! Crazy, isn’t it?

Jesus’ Trip Through Samaria

John says that Jesus “had” to go to Samaria. I don’t know why, but probably because he wanted this meeting to occur. Most of the Samaritan women went to the well to draw water in the mornings while it was still cool. But now it was the middle of the day, and the sun was beating down on the sand. And here comes this woman in the heat, with her heavy jug balanced on her shoulder, just so she could avoid being seen by the other women.

Jesus was sitting beside the well, waiting for her to arrive. He knew she was coming. He had sent his disciples into the town to get some food. So, it was just the two of them there when she arrived.

He watched her as she approached, her eyes glancing in every direction to make sure none of the other women would see her there and whisper about her. She was tired of the gossip and hateful glares.

An Unexpected Encounter at a Water Well

At first she didn’t see him sitting there, and then Jesus asked her for a drink of water. It stopped her in her tracks. Here was a man sitting by the town’s well in the heat of the day asking her for a drink. She looked around, sure he wasn’t actually talking to her. No one ever talked to her. Besides, a Jew would never ask a Samaritan, especially a woman, for a drink no matter how thirsty he was. Samaritans were considered unclean and worthless.

She hesitated, keeping her eyes down. She felt uneasy but responded to his question with one of her own: “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”

Jesus’ answer was not what she expected. “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

Living water? She was puzzled. This man doesn’t even have a jug to draw water, and yet he talks about giving me water to drink?

Jesus Knows Her Secrets

But Jesus wasn’t done. He knew her heart, her longing, her struggles, and her sin. He told her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. In fact, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

She finally looked up at him. What is he talking about? Living water? No more drawing water from the well? Never being thirsty again? She finally responded, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

 He paused, looked her in the eye and said, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

Her voice softened to almost a whisper. “I have no husband,” she replied. Her eyes looking down at the ground once again; the shame welling up inside her.

Jesus said to her, “I know. You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with is not your husband.”

Who is This Man?

She realized that he must be some kind of prophet to know all this about her, but he wasn’t judging her. Instead, he told her that a time was coming when the Samaritans, the Jews, and anyone that truly believes will worship God in spirit and truth.

She replied, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Jesus smiled at her, “I am the Messiah, my child.”

A Changed Life

Did he just say HE was the Messiah? The long-awaited Son of God? She forgot about her shame, dropped her jug to the ground, and ran back to the town. She shouted for everyone to come quickly. “It’s Him! It’s Him! The Promised One has come!” As they all gathered around her, she caught her breath and said, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this really be the Messiah?”

So, everyone quickly made their way out of town and met Jesus, still standing there by the well with his arms outstretched and a smile on his face. Oh, they had so many questions! But when they looked in his eyes, they just knew that he was who he claimed to be. They soon asked him to stay, and he did for two days. Just think, this sinful, lonely woman had an encounter with the Savior that changed her life, and the lives of an entire town. Things were never the same in Sychar, that’s for sure!

Life-changing Water…For You

Living water. It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? It makes us never thirsty again. Not a physical thirst, of course, but our thirst for meaning, for acceptance, for purpose, for forgiveness.

Are you missing that living water in your life? Does it seem like life is just one challenge and struggle after another? Is your shame weighing you down? Do you feel lost and alone? I have felt that way many times, too.

If I were there with you, dear one, I would take your hand, and tell you that you are not alone. Your Heavenly Father loves you and wants to fill you to overflowing with his peace and forgiveness. Nothing you have ever done can make him love you any less. Absolutely nothing! I promise.

I know that may be hard to believe. If you’re like me, your past likes to come bumping back into the present reminding you that you are not worthy. Satan wants us to feel that way. But he is a liar!

The wonderful promise in Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness,” is what Jesus offers you. A clean slate every morning. No guilt or shame hanging over your head. No one to rub your nose in your mistakes. Clean. Fresh. New.

Hang on tight to that promise. Every day is a new start. Drink from his living water and never be thirsty again. (Send me a message if you want to know more about how you can get this same living water for yourself.)

Love, Grandma D

Prayer:

Dearest Father, the promise of living water seems too good to be true. We look at our sins and feel dirty. Satan tries to keep reminding us that we are not worthy. But Jesus makes us worthy, and we are so grateful. Knowing that your love is steadfast and unmoving, and knowing that your mercies are brand new every single day are wonderful promises we eagerly want to cling to. Thank you for your refreshing, living water. Fill us until we overflow!

In Jesus’ name, AMEN.