Longing for Water

I just finished reading Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, & the Miracle that Set Them Free, by Hector Tobar.  It's the true story of the 33 miners who survived a terrible experience of being trapped deep in a mine, after the ramp leading out to the surface was blocked by crashing rock, on Aug. 5, 2010.  All 33 miners survived the huge crash but were imprisoned in the mountain, unable to escape.  They carefully rationed a small amount of water and food, to last for 17 days.  When the bottled water ran out, they were forced to drain water from vehicles in the mine, water tinted with oil.  They all lost drastic amounts of weight, until a few were described as skin and bones.

Their hope gradually faded; several wrote farewell letters to loved ones, letters that would probably never be found.  The food ran out, along with any hope.  They were all weak; some were sick.  Then they began hearing noises which they later recognized as drills coming down from the surface, renewing their hope to live.  A small drill broke through; one miner began hitting the drill bit with a heavy hammer, to signal that they were alive.  A note to the surface told the rescuers that all 33 were still alive deep down in the dark.  The first thing the rescuers sent down in a tube, was clean bottled water, so that the 33 would no longer have to drink the tainted water from their vehicles.

(The 33 movie scheduled to come out on Nov. 13, is based on this book - Deep Down Dark by Tobar.)

In Psalm 63:1-2, David wrote, “You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
 and beheld your power and your glory.”

David wrote this while he was a fugitive in the desert.  He remembered the sanctuary of the temple in Jerusalem and longed for God’s presence that he’d experienced in the past.  Listen to the deep yearning in his prayer: “Earnestly I SEEK you;
 I THIRST for you, my whole being LONGS for you, 
in a dry and parched land 
where there is no water.”

We have an empty place in our hearts, that can only be satisfied by God.  We thirst to love and be loved by others.  Many try to fill this void in unhealthy or sinful ways.  The only way to truly satisfy this void is through God’s living water.  Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.  Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

This life has difficulties and hard times; it can seem like traveling throught a desert after running out of water.  We get tired, thirsty, and lonely.  We miss conversations with close friends.  There may no one to help us or encourage us.  When we are weak or lonely, this life can like a dry, weary land where there is no water. 

But we don’t need to thirst.  God can quench our thirst, fill our hearts, and fill us with his Living Water.  Remember what God has done for you in the past.  Close your eyes and imagine standing in the sanctuary before the throne of God, with flowing fountains at each side.

If you do not have a church home, you are welcome to attend First Presbyterian Church in Deport, where we are blessed with the Water of Life each Sunday, in worship at 11:30 am.  The next time, you pour a glass of water, pause to thank the One who gives the Water of Life.