"On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:37,38)

"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31,32)

I've been struggling lately with discontentment. Maybe I have PMS, which I probably do, but I've been inclined to binge, sit around, watch tv, and do absolutely nothing. I've even been irritated at those who get in the way of my laziness! It's been a struggle because I really don't like myself like this and I'm not honoring God by acting this way. So today I came across these two verses and realized that they contained perspective-altering truths.

The first verse takes place on the day of a great feast following an annual community fast. Jesus stands up, probably while everyone is satisfying their ravenous appetites, and asserts that if anyone's thirsty they should come to him to drink. Now, I'm pretty sure He wasn't announcing that he'd be in charge of pouring the punch. Jesus had something much better: living water. He wants us to come to him to when we are discontent; He wants us to believe in Him when we're confused, scared, sad, angry, etc.. And whoever drinks this living water--whoever believes in Jesus--will have hearts overflowing with living water. Jesus is referring here to the Spirit whom He had not yet given to His disciples. This passage really makes me think about whether I come to Jesus when I'm thirsty. When I feel empty, sad, lonely, bored, etc. I usually turn to food, tv, or people to make me feel better. I guess it's not that those things are bad, but the reality is that only Jesus can satisfy; only He will meet all my needs: "And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:19). I have to believe that, even when I don't receive immediate satisfaction. All in all, I know by waiting upon the Lord when I'm lonely, sad, etc. and choosing not to "drug" myself with things that may quickly ease the discomfort will ultimately take away my thirst altogether (John 4:14). In Jesus, there is no dissatisfaction even if it means initially prolonging the pain for a little longer than I'm used to.

The second verse pretty much keeps me accountable for the first verse. I cannot truly be a disciple of Jesus if I don't choose to believe and obey His Word. Going further than that, I can't be set free from my sinful habits if I don't continually seek to know the truth by reading, believing, and obeying His Word. And going even a step further, I can't be set free if I don't come to Him when I'm thirsty or dissatisfied. If I don't come to Him, I'll just find someway to subdue to pain through sinful means. So in short, I want to come to Him like a daughter goes to her Father when she needs comfort. Our Heavenly Father is so full of grace and mercy that it's so much more overwhelming than we could ever realize. Even though He is holy and perfect, He mercifully looks past our failures and desires us come to Him for help in our times of need (Hebrews 4:16).

A convicting series on fasting by John Piper:
"A Fast for Waters That Do Not Fail", Part 1 and Part 2