Mark spoke this morning on the subject of spiritual thirst. God is the only One who can fully quench our thirst; He provides water for the thirsty. Ex 17:1-7 shows us the people of God in the desert where there was no water, complaining to Moses (to the point of considering stoning him!) about their dire need. Moses was given specific instructions from God, which he had to follow, but it was God who provided the miracle (water from a rock) as Moses obeyed. The people were not grateful to God for His provision, but once again, God demonstrated His care and power in providing water in the desert.
In Numbers 20:1-13, a similar situation occurred. This time, Moses was commanded to speak to the rock (Num 20:8), but he struck the rock again (Num 20:11). The water flowed again from the rock, but Moses was rebuked for not obeying God. Nonetheless, God’s graciousness meant He provided for His people even when their leader made mistakes. God is a thirst-meeting God.
Is 44:3 reminds us of one of the great promises of God: ‘I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants.’ What God promises, He does, but we need to be thirsting for the things of God. His drenching water not only satisfies our thirst, but is poured out for generations. He is a God of transformation and refreshing (see Is 61:3, where we see how God gives us beauty for ashes, gladness for mourning and praise instead of despair.) We are a ‘planting of the Lord’, rooted and replenished by God’s Spirit.
Ps 1:1-3 continues this imagery of the tree planted by streams of water which yields fruit in season. God gives an all-sufficient supply of water to us (if there were only one stream, it might run dry, but there is a promise of never-ending water to enable us to be fruitful and prosperous in due season.) Ps 92:12-15 talks of how the righteous will flourish like a palm tree. In these verses, the key word is ‘flourish’: we will flourish individually and corporately (even to our old age!) as we admit our thirst before God. Such spiritual refreshing is vital, for if we are not refreshed, we are not transformed and if we are not transformed, we cannot be fruitful for God. All God asks of us is a deep thirst for Him which He will abundantly satisfy.