Then Jesus said, "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (NLT)
Water in the desert
The heat of the sun was unrelenting on the arid desert. Sand drifts lay silent but threatened to become aggressive and deadly at the first hint of a breeze. Mirages of heat waves kept the otherwise still scenery pulsating with distortion.
This was the first time we had ever driven through a desert and were completely unprepared for any challenges. But then it happened! Our car radiator overheated and steam spewed across our windshield.
In front of us was a wide area on the roadside. We turned the car wheel and slowly the vehicle panted its last sigh before it stopped. There were no other vehicles on this lonely stretch of road except for the vehicle my parents were driving. They saw our problem and drove their car behind ours.
When we opened the car doors a fierily blast of heat from the desert threatened us, as if they were invading this thirsty land.
"What can we do? We need water for the radiator and there is no one around. We need a few tools to fix the problem. We have no cell phone." We each voiced our concerns.
Just then, as if from nowhere, we saw a truck drive into site. Shocked, we looked closer. Where did the truck come from? We thought that there was no road. Oh, but there was. Unseen by us, the wide area on the roadside, where we stopped continued around a sand drift. Then it expanded into a larger area where there was a back road which lead back onto the main road.
"Do you have any tools we could use?"
"Sure!" was the man's reply. "I can't stay, so when you are finished with them, just leave them here", he motioned. "If you need water, use the water in that drum", he pointed.
We looked and there, previously unnoticed to us, supported by a wooden frame hung a cistern of water.
The man drove off in his truck and we never saw him again. We fixed the car, filled it with water from the cistern and drove safely to our destination.
This really happened and we were very grateful. But there is a thirst for water that is much greater than the water needed for a radiator. Today you may be thirsting in your soul for happiness, joy, peace, hope, goodness, and righteousness. How can you receive these things? Where is the cistern to which you can go to pour these things into our souls?
Just like the hopeless situation we felt we were in, I assure you that there is hope. There is a cistern. Where is that cistern? Where is that hope? It is in Jesus.
Today, right now, you can call out to Jesus for help. He alone satisfies. He can wash you clean. He can give you peace, hope, and joy that cannot be taken from you.
Won't you call out to Him right now? He is the cistern of living water that is available for you. Be refreshed through Jesus!
The wild animals in the fields will thank Me, the jackals and owls, too, for giving them water in the desert. Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so My chosen people can be refreshed. (Isa. 43:20)
