Day 34- I Thirst

The death of Jesus on the cross was close at hand.  He is physically thirsty.  His body had been through so much from the time of his arrest until these final moments, he would have had to be nearly completely dehydrated.  We may not be able to relate to all the pain and suffering Jesus experienced that led to this moment, but we have all known the feeling of being thirsty.

But his thirst was not only physical.  There was the spiritual thirst for God the Father.  As in yesterday's devotion, we remember that as Jesus took upon himself our sin and the death we deserved, he felt separated from the Father.  He thirsted for God.  He longed for that relationship that was being broken by the world's sin.

Because of the cross and resurrection, Jesus is the "living water" for us.  There are times when we feel all dried up spiritually.  We thirst for God.  The good news is that we only need to give our lives over to God once again, and we can be filled with the living water Jesus offers us.

This also reminds me that many people throughout the world are thirsty all the time.  Clean, safe drinking water is a luxury many people simply do not have.  In my three visits to Tanzania in East Africa, it was shocking to me to see people getting their drinking water from dirty rivers or, worse yet, muddy wells they had dug.  I'm grateful for those organizations that are able to work with the people to provide clean drinking water and to educate people about the importance of clean water.  Water issues are critical here in the dry state of Utah as well.  Without an adequate clean water supply, life as we know it would not be possible.

As we think about the words of Jesus on the cross, "I thirst," let us pray that we might be spiritually refreshed this day.  Let us also pray we might be  made aware of the critical issues surrounding the limited water supply  on our planet and do our part to make clean water possible for others.