Have you ever been really thirsty? I don’t mean just a little dry but really thirsty? Maybe you were out for a hike and ran out of water. When you are truly thirsty, nothing will satisfy like a big drink of water. One of the many blessings we have in this country is access to clean water. We take it for granted. In fact, not only do we have clean tap water but we can filter it or buy it in a bottle.
The Bible speaks of another kind of thirst.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6 ESV
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” Psalm 42:2 ESV
How many of our souls thirst for God? We discussed this in Sunday School yesterday and it made me think of something I’d heard earlier in the week. When our soul thirsts for God it means we want to spend time with Him to know Him better and discern His will for our lives. That leads me to something else we take for granted in this country…His Word…the Bible. The history of how we got the Bible into the hands of the people is amazing. Then to have it translated into English is even more amazing. Lives were lost in the effort to make the Scriptures available to ordinary people.
I know that personally we probably have over a dozen copies of the Bible in our house. We have various translations which include numerous different commentaries. That does not include the Bible software that we have on 3 computers that probably has every translation and commentary known to man.
I was convicted last week when I heard a story on the radio. Just over a year ago, the Kimyal tribe of Papua, Indonesia was given the gift of having the New Testament in their own language for the very first time. A missionary named Rosa Kidd and her national helpers had spent 15 years on the translation. In order to be taught, the teachers had to not only prepare what they were going to teach but translate the Scriptures into the language of the people. To hear the praise of the people when the bush plane was landing was incredible.
Here is a quote from Rosa Kidd:
I thought, “We have no idea.” We have had the Word of God for so long. We have taken it for granted. We have resources, we have translations, we have all these different things, and we don’t cherish them. We don’t realize what a precious gift we have and hold in our hands. And these guys were realizing that and saying, “God you’ve come to us through the Word.”
I couldn’t agree more! I love to study God’s Word, but do I cherish it the way I should? Do you?
If you are not currently reading your Bible I would challenge you to root it out, dust if off and start reading. That is the only way that you can truly know what it says. Too often we are mislead because we don’t know what’s in there. A great example was this past Saturday when people were fooled into thinking the rapture was going to happen. It’s quite clear in Scripture that we will not know when it’s going to happen and we better be ready at any moment.
"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Matthew 24:36 ESV
“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew 24:44 ESV
Well, I need to run. I’m thirsty!
Have a great day!