Where Is That Water?

   The Scripture lesson for this morning contained this statement of Jesus from John 9:

   "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink...."

   It set me to thinking about what I am really in truly thirsty for. Is it truly for God and His stamp on my life, or something else? Is my search for Him realistic or just something to make me look pious?

   When a man is out in the desert, the search for water is a matter of life or death. Is my search like this?

   Someone said that man was in a continual search for significance, and I sense that that is a true statement. I realize that I don't want to just live, but I want to have some significance, so that my limited years on this earth have meant something to someone.

   But who is the someone that I am trying to impress? My golfing partners? My wife and family? The people in my church? Sure I can do some things that will enable me to gather praise from any or all of these, but is that praise the end?

   I know my heart, and I know that the praise of men is highly stimulating, but I also know that if that praise does not match what I am deep down in my heart, it is a fleeting shadow in a dead end street. Now that was a great phrase, right?

   Knowing me as I do, I realize that even though I know all of this and I can humbly say that what I do is not all that important, the praise is gladly received. I've said it before, "I know how to be proud to be humble".

   My prayer this morning as I finished my Examen.me study into those verses in John 9 was:

   "Dear God, let my thirst for You be like that man who is in the desert and if he does not soon find water, he will die. Don't let my search be out of idle curiosity, or to fill some minor intellectual need, but let it be one of life or death, because it really is just that.

   Please speak to me through my times in Your Word, so that I might become the man You want me to be. That I would not just appear to be good, but actually be that way. Don't let me become a Pharisee, afraid of a challenge to my beliefs and any authority that I might think I have, but one that seeks You always and listens to Your true words.

   I pray that any words that come out of my mouth will be those that bring life to others, not confusion and death. Help me to be a blessing to others and not a curse. Guard my tongue, and use it for Your Glory and not mine.

Amen