There is a saying. You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make them drink. I know only a few things about a horse, but one is that they don’t drink water until they are thirsty for water. They won’t drink when we think they should drink. They drink when they are thirsty. You can lead them to water, but you can’t make them drink.
In some ways, Jesus is like that towards us. And we are like the horse is towards Him. We need water to sustain our lives, especially when we feel like we are not thirsty. Scripture tells us this in Psalm 42:1-2, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
To pant for water means to long for the refreshing of the soul that water brings. It means we have a deep desire for that and nothing else. The deer knows it needs the refreshing energy that comes with a cool drink of water. Water prepares the deer to face the challenges of the day in the fulness of all its strength.
If all Jesus ever did for us was to lead us to water, we would all die of thirst. Why? Because we will not always drink of the way of life Jesus has planned for us. Jesus will always lead us to the right place, but He will never force us to do the right things. We must long to do that. So, what does Jesus do to get us to do what He knows is good for us?
Jesus knows each of us better than we know ourselves. So, He doesn’t just lead us to where we should be, He is an expert at making us thirsty once we are there. Yes, He leads us to the water, but then He goes to work to make us thirsty. Only then will we want to drink. We must have a thirst for thirst. We must thirst to have our thirst satisfied by the Father.
Jesus does three things to make us long for Him. He wants us to say to ourselves, “God you are my God; early in the day I will seek You. My soul pants for You in the dry land and in the land of plenty where people live as if there is no God.”
When our longing for God is like this, He leads us to where we should be. Then He makes us thirsty by helping us to see that nothing we have had in the past can compare to what He has in store for us. We must live to leave our pasts to enjoy our futures.
He makes us thirsty by helping us see that all that we have now must not keep us from all that God promises us even if we do not know it all. We want the abundant life He promises more than the abundant life we earn for ourselves.
He makes us thirsty by helping us see that a future with much but without Him is not as satisfying as a future with sufficient but with Him. We long for more of Him and less of the world.
Jesus wants to inspire you more than to command you. But you must allow yourself to be inspired to thirst for the things He wants to give you. Let your soul follow close after Him. He is your help when you do not know you need help.
He longs to lead you to the water so He can inspire you to thirst. He is your portion. Be inspired to thirst for what He alone can provide you. Then you will find the refreshing of His life hitting the bottom of your life.
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