Thirsty

Kenneth Bailey knows what it is like to almost die of thirst.

Bailey spent 40 years teaching the Bible in Egypt and Palestine. He and his friends started a trek into the Sahara Desert on a day when the temperature was above 110 degrees. They began with a goat-skin bag filled with water, but the water leaked out.

They set off for a desert well, but thirst began to take its toll. Bailey says:

“My mouth became completely dry, and eating was impossible because swallowing felt like the rubbing of two pieces of sandpaper together. My vision became blurred, and the struggle to keep moving became harder with each step. We knew that if the well was dry, our armed guards would probably have forcibly seized our three baggage camels and ridden them back to the valley, leaving the rest of us to die.”

When someone grows thirsty, they want their thirst quenched. They will take risks and focus only on what they need to live.

David said:

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)

Great faith is nothing more than a thirsty soul looking for a divine well. Once it finds the life-giving stream, it grows strong.

In a tap-water world, are you thirsty for something more satisfying?