Hungry and thirsty, I came out of my mother's womb. Needy, I was born into this world.
My need for physical food was only the beginning; just a picture of my real heart need. I needed a place to lay my head. I needed rest. I needed love.
I need love. I need belonging and connection. I need a solid place to stand and a firm foundation under my feet. I need to know the truth about my world, about myself, and about God. I need.
I was born thirsty. And, I still thirst. Every day, I thirst and I get hungry.
In Jeremiah, God explains to His people exactly where they have gone wrong... Where, in all their bad choices and lack of trust, did they make the first wrong turn. He tells them that at the core, the root of all their sins is twofold:
"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." (Jeremiah 2:13)
Two root sins I can commit when I feel thirst. ...to forsake my God, the source of Life-giving, fresh water.
...and I build my own pump, my own pipes, my own barrel for holding dirty, stagnant water. And, I build them badly, at that! They are broken and leaky ...mold, dirt and worms get in this water I hold.
I have shared numerous times here what my broken cisterns are: food, entertainment, control, vain thoughts, organizing and planning... to name just a few..
When I am thirsty... and I will always be thirsty here on this dry earth! ...So, when I am thirsty, I have a choice. I must drink. I need to drink. The questions is from where will I drink? I can run to the fresh water from God! I can eat and drink of Him (John 4).
Or, I can run to my broken pipes and barrels... and drink.
I drank from my rusty pipes yesterday. I took a long, deep drink. In the moment, it almost felt like I had to, like I didn't have a choice... instinct, really, drove me to those pipes. But this is a lie... not the Truth. I always have a choice. He offers me living water--always fresh, always satisfying, always available.
Like a poison, it turned my stomach almost instantly. And, it certainly did not quench my thirst. I tasted the mold and the dirt. It left me hungry and thirsty again.
For, I was born thirsty. Thirsty for God, alone.
"No man can quench his thirst with sand, or with water from the Dead Sea..." ~Horatius Bonar