Monday Morning Message - Dry

The drought down our way has been remarkable. Statistically it was the driest spring since they began keeping records back in 1895. Practically, that means that everything is bone dry. I read with jaw dropping interest that at one point water had not flowed in the Kissimmee River in Florida for 212 days. That, my friends, is dry.

The drought has everyone talking about it. I overheard some of the guys at the coffee shop trying to "out-dry" the other. One old head, with a grin on his face, said, "It's so dry that my cows are giving evaporated milk." His friend dryly replied, "That's nothin'. I caught a catfish the other day and had to pick the ticks off of it before I could clean it."

Donald Wilhite, writing about the Sudan drought in 2003, asks a stop-you-in-your-tracks question, "We think of water as an unlimited resource. But what happens when you turn on the tap and it's not there?"

The Bible is literally filled with thirsty people. People who are looking for water. Abraham fought battles over water. Elijah prayed for rain. David wishfully desires a drink of water from a memorable well from his childhood. There's the woman at the well who comes to draw water in the heat of the day. Even Jesus on the cross declares, "I thirst." The Psalmist sighs, "As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." (Psalm 42:1-2) I know what he's talking about. I guess you could say I'm a parched preacher. My shriveled soul needs a drink. I'm thirsty.

"On the the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38). Maybe it's time for me to go to Jesus. Are you thirsty?