They shall neither hunger nor thirst, neither heat nor sun shall strike them; for He who has mercy on them will lead them, even by the springs of water He will guide them. Isaiah 49:10  NKJV 

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” John 4:15

Water is essential to life. We all need water to drink, to grow food, to give to animals for their needs. Trees and grasses and all the weeds too – they need water to grow and flourish. This year we have seen such a contrast of floods and drought. Some areas have wildfires that threaten homes due to the lack of rain resulting in very dry vegetation. Other areas have had floods, North Carolina was devasted along with other southeastern states, from Hurricane Helene.

Our own local weather has veered from way more rain than usual, to this past month with less than an inch of rain. Lilacs are so confused they are blooming in September after having bloomed already in the spring. As humans we can see weather reports, we can water plants or irrigate crops when water is in short supply. We can try to anticipate and mitigate the damage from floods.

Isaiah tells us of God’s promises that we will not hunger or thirst, that heat will not strike us. He has mercy on us, and will guide us to springs of water. Jesus tells the woman at the well that He can provide living water, she of course interprets this as actual water, which will never run out.

We too deal with actual, physical water. In the case of the recent hurricane, Lutheran Disaster Relief is one means by which we can help.  Yet the water Jesus refers to is eternal, it is God’s mercy and saving grace that will be with us forever. We can trust in God’s promises.

Lord Jesus, the wells of your life-giving water run very deep. Holy Spirit, we seek your living water. You quench our thirst when the well runs dry. Help those currently struggling with natural disasters and dealing with the loss of life.  Inspire us to share your grace with those we encounter today. Amen

Chris Gabel

Ministries
Teaching Mission Party