The Refreshment Jesus offers ~ A Guest Post by Jennie Atkins

It’s hot. You’re sweating—okay, women don’t sweat, we perspire.  It still doesn’t change the fact that the thermometer has crept far too close to the unpleasant three-digit mark and the humidity of summer has left your hair limp, your attitude as unsettled as the air before a thunderstorm, and you’re uncomfortable.

Imagine that someone hands you a tall glass of iced tea or ice-cold water with lemon. Or pushes you into the deep end of a cool pool. Or both, like the remake of the 1980’s Nestea commercial.  Ahhh! Refreshing!  It hits the spot and gives you an instant attitude adjustment.

Now consider your life. Are you so overwhelmed with earthly responsibilities, stressed to the max, or just tired to the bone?  Are the demands on your time endless? Don’t get me wrong, all of these things—you spouse, family, and job—are valid demands, but you feel as if there is no end in sight.

 

Well I am handing you a tall glass of refreshment.

In John 4:13 Jesus tells the Samaritan woman “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Jesus is our living water. Our eternal refreshment that goes far beyond drenching our parched throats. It quenches the cravings of our soul.

The refreshment Jesus offers is never-ending.

Ezekiel 47 tells us about Ezekiel’s prophetic vision of the river flowing from the new temple. The water flowed from under the threshold flowing eastward.  The further away from the temple it went the deeper and wider it became.

Verse 5 says it “was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross.” This river, is a picture of God’s refreshment. It is an endless flow coming straight from the throne of God. He longs to give us all we need. Whether it be peace and refreshment or strength to tackle the day ahead. Either way, we can drink from His endless supply of living water.

The refreshment Jesus offers sustains life.

Verse 9 tells us “Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows.” And “where the river flows everything will live.”  In God there is abundant life, life in Him. 

There is a river near me that is a sea of color from the sheer number fish trying to make their way upriver to spawn. This is exactly the picture that forms in my mind when I read this verse. It also tells of the fishermen standing in the water, their nets spread wide to take in God’s abundance. God gives us everything we need to live abundantly, in Him. We shall be like the fishermen, our nets open and full of his blessings.

The refreshment Jesus offers has the power to heal.

Verse 12 shows us “Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail…Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” With God’s living water, there is sustenance and there is healing—for our bodies and our spirit.

Sometimes our lives leave us hot, thirsty, and dry. Stop what you’re doing and take a long sip from the well of living water. Drink of the refreshment Jesus has to offer. You’ll never thirst—or want—again. 

A native Ohioan, Jennie and her husband of almost 40 years have sold their home and are ready to begin the “next chapter” of their life together—a step in faith—destination unknown. While packing their home and waiting for all the paperwork to be done, Jennie loves to garden, sew, or go four-wheeling. Jennie has four children and four grandchildren.

Connect with Jennie at JennieAtkins.com 

"Living Water" - By Melissa Driggers

Creative Commons

On some days, I can’t look at them.  Sometimes looking at my scars is just too much.

You see, my scars aren’t just surgical.  As a result of the surgery to remove the cancer from my leg, I developed a permanent, incurable disease that leaves me with deformity, daily unrelenting pain, and which has changed my way of life in radical ways.  On some days, the pain is so bad that I can’t walk at all.

Managing the illness is challenging, to say the least.  Through it, though, I have come to rely on His presence and the peace that passes all understanding with a depth that I never imagined possible before cancer and lymphedema.  For that, I am so very grateful.  

Yet even so, I can’t lie.  Living with this stinks, with a capital “S”.  I mean it really, really stinks.  Every day, it is a challenge to reclaim the sense of femininity I once knew.  Every day, I choose to fight for a sense of external beauty that now so often seems so far out of reach when I see my own reflection.   Friends, on most days, that emotional and spiritual battle is exhausting.

After trying many treatments to “manage” the disease to the point of utter emotional and physical exhaustion, including wearing a cast from hip to toe for 8 weeks (THAT was fun!), spending thousands of dollars on physical therapy and custom compression garments, and exercising for countless hours on treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes (all of which made it even worse), I recently found myself officially at the last resort… 

THE POOL!   (cue the scary music here…)

Y’all know what that means, right?  A bathing suit.  A bathing suit would never, ever be able to hide my scars, not to mention the fact that I’d be in a public pool, and the last time I checked, “public” means that other people would be there.   Seriously, God? 

Since my surgery two years ago, I had never exposed my leg in public and had zero plans to do so, but something inside me just knew that my answer was in the water.  So, I bought an athletic swimsuit and signed up for water exercise classes at the community aquatic center.  I swallowed ALL of my pride as I donned that swimsuit and showed up for the “Get Wet and Sweat” class a few days later.  My head was down, and I didn’t make eye contact with anyone, but I was there.  

It was a lot to take in at first – familiarizing myself with the movements, trying not to drown (ha!), chuckling inwardly at the cheesy background music, and conquering the many fears that I’d brought in with me.  The instructor guided us to do a high-intensity segment of “flutter kicks”, and all at once I realized that in the water I was able to move in ways that were not possible on the ground. 

Wait…how can this be?  In the water, my pain is gone.

In that moment, I completely lost it, and started sobbing.  I don’t mean a delicate little girly cry.  I mean full-blown-snotty-faced WEEPING, right in the middle of thirty men and women doing flutter kicks in the pool to the beat of “Build Me Up Buttercup”.  Worship comes at the most unexpected moments sometimes!  The freedom and healing that came in the water was more than I could comprehend, and my gratitude came pouring out (literally).  After years of suffering on “dry land”, for the first time, I felt whole.  For the first time, I was free.

In the pool that day, the metaphor of the ages had come to life in my heart.

Jesus spoke often of living water, as did the prophets, and water was the venue for miracles, teaching, and healing in the Bible.   One well-known example of this teaching was to the Samaritan Woman.  To her, he explained, “…Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water, welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14, NIV).  She had come to the well to fill up her jar with stagnant water from the cistern to drink, but instead she encountered Jesus, who knew everything about her and filled her empty heart with streams of fresh, flowing mercy and grace. 

The water in the pool doesn’t heal me.  His mercy in the water is what makes my broken, diseased body whole again.  

Only when I allow myself to come bare and exposed, showing my scars, at the end of myself, can he show me what is possible with Him. 

What are you struggling with today?  Whatever it is, He is knocking on the door of your tired and empty heart, waiting to fill it with the living water that gives new life.  Let Him. 

Melissa is an itinerant speaker/teacher, blogger, and author residing in the South.  She is single (although she prefers the term “unclaimed treasure”) and lives with her two children, Henry and Hannah, who are “technically” canine (ssshhhh… they don’t know they aren’t human).  Her vision and passion for ministry is to shepherd others to the grace, hope, healing, and restoration found only in Jesus Christ!  Through her own life journey, God has transformed her heart, and she has experienced the true meaning of “beauty from ashes”.

You can connect with Melissa through her web site, at www.infieldsofgrace.com

Click here to view a video of "Mercy" by Casting Crowns

Dying of Thirst ~ a Guest post by @SundiJo

I became acquainted with Sundi Jo Graham through mutual friends and knew from the start that I had been introduced to someone special. Sundi Jo has a powerful story to tell and I am so thrilled that she has been given the opportunity to do so in her new book, "Dear Dad...Did you know I was a Princess?" We at Church 4 Chicks are honored to have her writing for us today and we are confident you'll be blessed by this post.

Because He First Loved me,
Shelley
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Photo By Amelia Grace Photography

Dying of Thirst

By

Sundi Jo 

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” - John 4:13-14

From Dear Dad... 

As I walked back to the wine department, I got a text message from my friend Jennifer. It was John 4:13-14. 

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

How did she know? Was it God? He was finally reaching out. Now what? I could have put it up, turned around, and gone home, and no one would have known, but I didn’t. 

As I walked up to the counter to pay, she sent another text. Ecclesiastes 2:3 flashed across the screen, “The king tried everything, including intoxicating drink, to see if it satisfied. It did not.” 

What was I to do with that? He is enough to satisfy. Even kings cannot be satisfied. Was I doing it for satisfaction? Had I tried everything? I certainly wasn’t doing it because I was thirsty. It was too late. I couldn’t turn around now; I would embarrass myself. 

More... 

Isn't so easy to satisfy ourselves? To indulge our flesh with the "things of this world." We convince ourselves in moments of despair that God can't help us. We've screwed up too much for Him to come to our rescue now.  

That's so far from the truth. He's right there, waiting. Waiting for us to call on him, cry out for his help, and admit we can't do life without him. 

I remember that day as if it just happened. I remember the cold chill traveling down my spine as I gripped the frosty wine bottle in my hand. In a few hours I would be thirsty again, seeking something other than the only one who could fill me up - Jesus. He was enough to satisfy.  

He is enough to satisfy. 

Do you believe that today?  

Sundi Jo is an author and speaker. Her first book Dear Dad, a memoir of gritty redemption, offering hope to the broken, is available now. You can find her on Twitter and Facebook.  

Sundi Jo 
Writer, Speaker, Lover of Life
www.sundijo.com

"A memoir of gritty redemption, offering hope to the broken." - deardadthebook.com