“For I will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.” Isaiah 44:3
Dear Ones:
What is the basis and assurance that God says what he means, and means what He says? It has to do with the reality of Him being the Creator, specifically, the Creator of each one of us. This is the first thing, as He has said: “Thus says the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which WILL help thee.” (Is. 44:2) When the Lord revealed Himself to Jeremiah, and spoke to him concerning his calling, He said: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” (Jer. 1:5) For Israel, Isaiah, and each one of us, the fact that He formed us, created us, is the first, and great reassuring truth for which He intervenes in our lives, giving us a thirst, or desire, to know God. In Isaiah 44, the Lord goes on to specifically “nail down” the ones who are called to be the recipients of His grace and mercy. Not only are they created by God, but He works in their hearts that they should become His servants, whom He has chosen. With respect to this matter of being “chosen,” Jesus reiterated the same concept in the Gospel of John, chapter 15: “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit.” (v.16) The word “chosen” speaks of His commitment to work in the heart and life of an individual. The word “ordained” speaks of a purpose, mission, task, a designed calling of eternal ramifications. Where does the matter, and subject of “thirsting” come into this picture? It is revealed by His work in the heart, working in that individual to will and doing of His good pleasure. How? He creates a thirst in the soul, a consciousness of need, which can only have its resolution and fulfillment in and by God. That thirst may be simply a “drawing out” of our hearts to Him. It may also be the result of a cataclysmic event in the life which brings the individual to realize that the help of man is futile, hence there is the cry of the heart to God. It is at this point that the promises of God, based upon the fact of His creation of each of us, and enforced by the revelation of Christ’s love on Calvary, assure us that He WILL answer the thirsts of the soul and heart. He gives thirst in order to meet the need.
In Isaiah, the Lord declares: “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.” (v.3) Here, God-given thirst is revealed by aridness, “dry ground.” There is the need for water, but there is none. It was the Psalmist who wrote: “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” (Ps. 42:2) True, God-given thirst, is a consciousness of “dryness,” aridness of soul, parched ground where there is no water, for there is no consciousness of the presence, or blessing of God. The promise of God becomes a certainty of hope, to the one who is truly thirsty, and seeking God alone. The Lord declares to the individual soul who thirsts, “….Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye buy and eat.” (Is. 55:1) Here again the issue of thirst arises, a thirst that leads to “the waters” that the Lord alone gives. In John’s gospel, the Lord Jesus specifically addresses the issue of thirst, and the essence of the water given by God: “If any man thirst, let him come unto ME, and drink.” (7:37) The living water which alone can quench the thirst of the soul is Christ alone, by His Spirit.
Dear Father, Thou blessed giver of thirst, enable us to come and drink of the life-giving stream of Thy Son, by the Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad