During the North African campaign of World War 2, some German troops became detached from their source of supplies in the desert. With their throats parched by the intense desert sun, they were overjoyed when they found a newly constructed British waterline. Shooting it full of holes, they fell on their stomachs and began gulping furiously.
But they realized something too late – the British had been testing the pipeline with salty seawater. Within 24 hours all of the Germans were dying of thirst. Recognizing the severity of their situation, they quickly surrendered.
How does God get us to quickly surrender? I believe sometimes he permits us to go too far, to get too much, and to experience deep failure. He permits this so we will turn to Him. Its a strategy that works well with hard heads like us.
Jesus taught a parable in which He said, “Go out…and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind” (Luke 14:21).
Tags: thirst, trials, trouble, World War II
When DeKalb County was first laid out by surveyors, it was laid out on a grid and divided into one square mile Sections. A Section would then be sold to families in Quarter Sections, or smaller amounts.
When I was a teenager I worked for a produce farmer in the southeast corner of this county. One hot summer day we were bailing hay and stopped for water in the center of a Section. A half mile from the nearest road, there was this huge old brick house, long abandoned. But it had an old hand pump outside that had the sweetest water you’ve ever tasted. When you’re thirsty and dry and covered with sweat and chaff, that well water was thoroughly thirst quenching.
The final words of the Bible, in Revelation 22:17, record: “Whoever is thirsty, let him come, and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” Drink deeply while we still have time.
Tags: refresh, thirst, water
I attended the Super Senior luncheon this week. I happened to sit at the seat that won the doorprize, which was the French Lavender plant that decorated our table. I’m not much of a plant guy, but it looked nice and I knew Anita (who could not be there) would enjoy it. So I took this nice plant out to the car when I took my mother and mother-in-law back home. When I returned to the church, I forgot to crack the car windows.
When I went out to go home after work, I noticed the plant was pretty well cooked. It was seriously wilted and the potting soil dry as a bone. I added some water as soon as I got home and presented it to my wife as an expression of my love. She took a look at it and was not impressed!
We went out to eat with friends that night, and by the time we got home it was looking great again. Its amazing how quickly a plant can be refreshed. And its also amazing how quickly our spirits can be refreshed when we have a fresh experience with God. The dryer things become, the more we should seek after His thirst quenching presence. Get refreshed.
Tags: revival, Romance, thirst