Week 26: June 22-28, 2025 - Are You Thirsty?

This week’s daily readings:

June 22-28, 2025

This week’s devotional:

Are You Thirsty?

by Rt. Rev. Brian Bethke 

Scripture: 

Do not quench the Spirit.  

— 1 Thessalonians 5:19 (NIV)

Reflection:

We had gotten the call! Our mission was to set up a reconnaissance site between two Middle Eastern countries in preparation for a major assault on a known terrorist stronghold. The air temperature was 115 degrees, and the ground temperature was in the 130s. We had less than an hour to grab our things. We were not given the amount of time we would be there nor were we given any details of the mission. The only thing we knew was we had to be on a CH-46 helicopter in an hour so that we could be transported to a forward-operating base to receive our orders and then be on our way to our reconnaissance position. 

After receiving our instructions at the forward-operating base, we jumped on another CH-46 helicopter where we were transported to our reconnaissance position and tactically inserted. We dug-in, camouflaged our area, and started observing.

It was hot, miserable, dusty, and hot (just so you know that it was hot)! After a day in our position, I reached in my bag to grab some water and realized I had forgotten to bring the rest of my water supplies. In the rush of getting on the helicopter and not knowing the extent of our stay, I was more concerned about the batteries for the communications equipment I was responsible for than I was for my own water supply.

After a day with no water in those extreme conditions, I was thirsty. A resupply of water was scheduled the next day, and I did not know if I could make it until then. The thirst was overbearing. The thought of water, the hope of water, the joy of drinking pure clean water was on the forefront of my mind. Oh, how I longed for just one drop!

Christian, thirst is a good thing. Thirst helps us prioritize that which is essential. Thirst focuses our attention and our affections on that which will nourish our spirit. Thirst has a way of simplifying our life with only one aspiration. Within us, the Holy Spirit creates this overbearing thirst for the things of God. Our thoughts become his thoughts. Our hopes are found in Christ and Christ alone. The joy we experience thinking about the Living Water is overwhelming. Once we take a drink of Living Water, peace, enjoyment, and comfort flood our emotions. Living Water eternally satisfies our soul, yet the thirst for our Lord Jesus intensifies. Thank God that the thirst remains and intensifies! Thank God that the thirst will remain and intensify forever! 

Beware of those things that promise to quench your thirst. They promise relief but result in heartache. Are you thirsty? How often do you think with longing for the Living Water?

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we are aware that, as fallen people, we don’t always know what we want or what is best for us. Lord Jesus, you experienced thirst in your time on earth, yet your word describes another type of thirst. You said in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” We pray you will graciously fill us all in this way! In John 4:14 you said, “whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.” Satisfy us with this promise yet keep us thirsting for Jesus. Let Jesus Christ become our hope, our joy, and the focus of our affections. Never let us quench your Holy Spirit who gives freely of this gift to all Christians! Let the thirst for Christ remain, intensify, and become an essential priority within us. Amen and amen.