The Satisfaction of Being Full  

Have you ever been so thirsty that you think you’re going to die… but then you have a deep drink of fresh, cool, clear water and it’s just awesome?!

It’s interesting that when Jesus talked about His plan for our lives, He used thirst and water to explain what He means. I think it’s because it’s something we can really relate to. When He meets a woman, a Samaritan, at a well, He says to her:

“…Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life...”

(John 4:13–14)

I wonder whether the reason that so many of God’s people aren’t having a powerful impact for Christ is that they aren’t thirsty enough for Him. Oh, we’re all thirsty… we’re all looking for that special something (or someone) that will fill us with contentment and satisfaction, joy and peace. But our tendency is to focus on the here and now, rather than the one, true living water.

My friend, may I ask you today, honestly, are you able to say to God, as the psalmist did:

“As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?”

(Psalm 42:1-2)

Because in this longing after God lies the secret to being filled to overflowing. And in the overflow lies the secret of impacting this world mightily for Christ. 

There is such an incredible satisfaction in being not just full of the Spirit, but being filled to overflowing. The problem is that so many of us have been living so dry for so long that we’ve accepted that as normal. It’s not!

When we come to Him thirsty, we drink a deep draught of living water and, because God is God, His Spirit flows out of our hearts into the parched, dry lives of the lost and hurting folk around us. That’s the way it’s meant to work in my life and in yours.

So, can I encourage you today: Don’t accept second best. Don’t accept a dry, parched life. Thirst… then wait to be filled by Him. Don’t accept anything less.

LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS 

• I want to circle back and ask you, how thirsty are you for Jesus? If the answer is not a lot, then let me encourage you to spend every day this week in Psalm 42. Let the Lord make you thirsty.
• Let’s join Jesus and the woman at the well. Look at her background (John 4:16-30). In the context of the day, how worthy was she of Jesus’ favour and power? How worthy do you feel?
• Why do you think Jesus chose the woman at the well to talk to above everyone else that day? What does that choice say to you about His desire to fill you to overflowing? To use you powerfully in the lives of others?
• Spend some time in prayer now, thirsting, longing to be filled and used by Him in this way.