Saturday, March 28
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”
—John 7: 37
After walking about two miles I realized that I had lost my way. The trail markers had disappeared into the forest and I started to panic. I continued to walk several miles, never finding my way back to the trail. I hadn’t taken any water with me, and coupled with my anxiety, I became very thirsty. That remains the most thirsty I have ever been.
While I know my thirst pales in comparison to the yearning of those truly deprived of water, the experience stuck with me. When I finally found my way back to the path, got the fuel, and returned to camp, I remembered drinking far more water than I needed. It was as if my thirst was unquenchable given all that I had been through. My body was crying for liquid, as if my very cells depended on it.
Few of us thirst for God in this way. We stray far from the path, losing our way as we venture down numerous detours. Devoting ourselves to work, neglecting personal relationships, worrying about our status, we allow a multitude of diversions to invade our lives and take us away from the markers along the journey.
If we could just learn to remain calm, return to the signposts left along the path and find our life in prayer, meditation, and relationships, our anxiety would leave us and we would return to God’s ways.
As you set out upon your daily journey, be attentive. Watch for the markers along the journey and try to stay on the path. When you thirst, do not become anxious, but remember God’s faithfulness. Let God’s living water be your focus, and let God’s heart flow to you like a river.
God, your love flows to me in all the waters of life. Grant that my thirst for you will remain constant and my desire for your heart be my focus. Amen.
