“Just got to make it to January.” Years ago, money was tight, and we were holding on until the next big paycheck, six weeks away. “Don’t spend any money” was our daily mantra. The money was set to come in, and until then, we had determined to go without until that time came around.
It was awful. We were second-guessing every decision. Every day was stressful. It felt like we were white-knuckling our life, fearing an unexpected expense would send us off the edge.
There’s a similar moment in scripture when the Jewish people are waiting for their Messiah. They endure invasion, occupation, exile, persecution and tyranny, white-knuckling it until their Savior King comes. The atmosphere is tense. Factions break out. There’s fighting between Jews. Everybody’s stressed.
One day, Jesus of Nazareth shows up in Jeruselem proclaiming to be the one sent from God to rescue, cleanse, and satisfy. Many believe in Him, but some question. In John 7, people ask: “How can He be the Messiah if we know where he grew up?” “How can the Messiah come from Galilee?” “Isn’t the Messiah supposed to come from Bethlehem?”
But among all the questions, this one spreads among the crowd: “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?” Basically, if Jesus isn’t the Messiah, how could the next guy hope to outshine Him? Out-miracle Him? Out-teach Him? Out-love Him?
And in the midst of this, Jesus stands up and says, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” Jesus is saying “I am the satisfaction Your soul longs for. There’s no one better coming. ”
And when I read that, in the midst of my earthly lack, the Holy Spirit convicted me of waiting on another satisfier. Another savior. I wasn’t just waiting on the paycheck to come in to pay my bills. I was waiting for it to satisfy my soul. I was enduring two hardships at once, waiting to drink from that earthly well, in hopes that it would quench both my spiritual thirst and the dryness of my bank account.
The truth is, our soul can be satisfied by God even when our worldly situations aren’t going well. Our inward life can be lush and healthy, even if our outward circumstances are crumbling. We don’t have to wait. We can take a drink today!
After many believed in Jesus, their situation got worse. Jerusalem was set on fire. The Temple was destroyed. Christians were beaten and killed. But the living water that Jesus filled them with inspired one Christian to write this before he was martyred:
“We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day“ (2 Corinthians 4:16).