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Leave your water jar behind

Hi my name is Scott Janzen. I am the pastor of Westerose Gospel Church.
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Pastor Scott Janzen

Thirsty?

Hi my name is Scott Janzen. I am the pastor of Westerose Gospel Church.

I remember many years ago I was working a casual job for the day digging trenches in a sweltering plus 30 degrees. While working in the heat I became very thirsty. There was no water around and I felt discouraged about my situation. Here I was in the heat, making lousy pay and no water to drink. Then to top it off, my shovel broke! Wow, that was the last straw! I started to complain to God about how thirsty I was. All of a sudden the voice of the Holy Spirit nudged me to give thanks. I did. I mustered up enough willpower to begin thanking God for the job I had for that day, the opportunity to make some money and for loving me so much. As I was praying, I heard a whistle. I thought at first, someone was attracted to my great physique digging trenches with a broken shovel, but no, that was not the case. In fact it was a water deliveryman who was driving by and decided to stop. He threw a water bottle in my direction and shouted out, “Hey it looks like you could use this”. With that, he got back in his vehicle and took off. I stood there in disbelief for a moment amazed about how God answered my prayer, even though it started off with my complaining.

This situation that happened to me spoke something profound to me. Not only does God care about every little detail of our life, but He is also concerned about our thirst! I’m not just talking about our physical thirst, but our spiritual thirst. The truth is, every one of us is thirsty. Whether our thirst is for love, entertainment, relationships, money, lust, a career…we all are thirsty. The real question is, “Where are you going to quench that thirst?”

The bible gives us a great example of this thirst. In John 4 Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus enters into this conversation with a woman he’s not even supposed to be talking to because of the cultural no no’s of that time. Jesus doesn’t allow that to stop Him, He’s on a mission to reveal a really important truth to this girl. Jesus asks for a drink setting up a conversation that would reveal this woman’s true place of so-called fulfillment…her relationships with men. Look at what Jesus says about this kind of empty promise.

Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”- John 4:13

Jesus reveals the truth that every one of our futile efforts to fill ourselves is going to leave us even thirstier. Just think about the things of this world that promise us satisfaction. Drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling. All of this stuff just leaves us feeling cheated and empty. The enemy comes and whispers in our ear to eat the forbidden apple promising endless satisfaction. The truth? Just another empty promise. What does Jesus offer? A water that satisfies!

One of the most profound aspects of this scripture that speaks to me the most is found in verse 28.

The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”- John 4:28

In case you missed it, she left her water jar behind. Why so profound? This girl had a revelation of Jesus Christ! She met the very one who could satisfy her needs. She no longer needed the water jar, a symbol of her relationships that she was using to fill her void.

So where are you at? Are you thirsty? Are you turning to empty promises? The good news is, Jesus is waiting for you to turn to Him. Repent of the things that give you a false intimacy and turn to Jesus and become truly satisfied. Who knows? He might even throw a water bottle your way when you’re thirsty!

The Pipestone Flyer has invited pastors and reverends from local churches to write a regular column for the paper.