From chapter 4 and the very familiar story of the woman at the well, I found a phrase I don't think I've thought before pondered. In verse 14 Jesus says that whoever drinks of the water that He offers will never thirst again.
Just what exactly does that mean? Have you ever thought about it? I mean I call myself a follower of Christ. I have drunk of His water so to speak. And then the rain falls on me just like a non-believer. Bad things happen to me. Life can be difficult for me at times. (See my postings from last year with the ordeal with my Dad, for example.) So just what does "never thirst again" mean?
Here is my "non-theologian's theological view": never thirsting tells me that my relationship with Him is secure, through whatever I experience in this life. The security of knowing that He will never leave me nor forsake (Hebrews 13:5) me keeps me from "thirsting" and questioning if He stills loves me or if He has walked out on me in my time of difficulty.
At a difficult point, some might question, "Because of what is happening to me, am I still one of His?" Drinking from His living water (believing in and following Him) makes you one of his sheep. And John 10 (which we'll probably cover later) assures us that no one can pluck His sheep out of His hand. I don't have to worry, question or "thirst" for that confidence.
In the midst of all that I, my family, and especially my Dad went through before His homegoing last May there was never a doubt that God was there. Did I understand it all at the time? Of course not, and I still don't. Yet I didn't thirst for His presence. It was always there.
It's a simple thought, I know. If you believe in Him, rest in Him. And whatever happens today and the days ahead, know that you have received His living water and you will never need to thirst for it again.