Come Thirsty

Revelations 22:¹⁷ “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.”

God is not limited by time. He is not limited by space. He is not constrained to seasons. God is God by Himself. It has pleased God to sustain the season of ingathering over us and we are grateful. Our text is from John 7:^37–39 “On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)” What was happening here?

The feast here is the feast of booths in scriptures or the feast of the tabernacles also known as the feast of ingathering. What usually happens on the final day of the feast of ingathering was that the high priest will lead a procession of the Jews to the pool of Siloam. There he will draw some water with a cistern and they would sing some hymns. ‘Hodu L′Adonai ki tov, ki l’olam chasdo, Hodu L′Adonai ki tov, ki l’olam chasdo…’ which means, ‘Give thanks for the Lord is good and His love endures forever.’ And when the procession gets to the temple, the high priest would pour out the water signifying life and harvest, signifying a provocation of the early rain, invoking God’s blessings over the next agricultural year.

In the thick of this, Jesus stood up and shouted, ‘If anyone is thirsty let him come to me for I am the water of life’ (paraphrased) – imagine the confusion. They looked at Him, this thirty-something year old carpenter’s son whose parents and siblings they knew. How can He say He is the water of life? Now, it is easy for us at this time to read it and embrace it. But it must have been a huge challenge and struggle for the Jews. Jesus went on to say, “Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” He was talking about the Holy Spirit.

If you are saved, the Holy Spirit from your belly would flow like Rivers of living water into your life, your situation, and to the people that you do life with. But the key there is this, Jesus said, ‘anyone who is thirsty may come’. If you are not thirsty, you cannot drink. If you put a sponge in water, what happens when you bring it out of water? It is soaked. But if you put a stone, a rock in the same water, when you bring it out what happens? The rock remains the same. The difference is thirst, hunger. The problem is not with the water. The sponge is thirsty!

Prayer:  Father, I come thirsty, for You and all that You have in store for me this season, satisfy me, Lord, cause me to drink freely, in Jesus Name. Amen!