Sometimes I settle……. for less.
A few months ago I was challenged by a picture of Oliver Twist leaving his inconspicuous place at the dining table with his empty bowl in hand, asking for “more”.
I was challenged about my own hunger for God, about how easy it is to slip into the busyness of life and forget my true need, how often I’m just content with how things are when God has so much more for me. I’m so good at seeing a million things that need my time and attention and so slow to see the longings of my own soul…(until I’m worn out and empty).
I want to come hungry, I want more! I want my desire for Jesus to match my need of Jesus!
There are so many verses in the bible that speak about our desire for God being a catalyst for experiencing more of God.
‘For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things.’ (Psalm 107:9 ESV)
‘For the eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.’ (2 Chronicles 16:9 NLT)
‘As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God.’ (Psalm 42:1-2)
I want to be filled. I want to come hungry for God to fill my bowl, that it will overflow to those around me. I want to carry the very essence of God’s presence so that instead of giving the tired leftovers of ‘doing and striving’, I give the heart and love of God to others.
In John 4 we meet a woman with an empty jar, a woman who came to a well thirsty. She was looking for physical water but needing the ‘Living water’ that could refresh her soul.
And Jesus is waiting to meet her need.
He speaks into her ongoing search for love and connection. He says in verse 10, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water”.
Jesus comes to her in her need and offers her living water that goes beyond her physical need to satisfy the deepest longings of her heart and soul.
And He comes to us too. He doesn’t always wait for us to come hungry… sometimes He’s waiting in obscure places where we wouldn’t expect to meet Him, when we’re unaware of the deep longings of our heart, where we’re weary from the physical and emotional demands of life, where we’ve given the best of ourselves to love others and we’re tired and weary…. and He is there…waiting to meet us… waiting to fill our empty jar.
And often times, I come with my little bowl when the gift of God is so outrageously generous that it is more like a waterfall saturating and soaking the deep longings of my heart!
If only we knew the gift of God and who it is that asks! Because unlike Oliver’s task master, we have a God who loves us extravagantly. If only we knew the deep love of God available to us. If only we knew the beautiful Jesus that is waiting to meet us in our weariness. The one who left heaven for you, who endured abuse and mocking, who was tortured on a cross to bring you back to the Father who loves you with the fiercest love possible.
We would not hesitate but to come with our empty bowls and cups and jars and ask Him for more… more love, more grace, more forgiveness, more peace, more joy, more of His presence!
Is there an emptiness that you need filled?
Jesus tells us, just as He did the Samaritan woman, to ask Him. To come boldly to the well and drink deeply, to outstretch our jars and ask for more.
If we knew the gift of God and the one who waits for us, we would ask Him and He would fill the ache in our soul with living water….deep rich, refreshing, life-giving water. Let’s leave the noise of the table and seek Him out to fill the deep longings of our soul.
Jesus waits for you at the well. He sees your longing and He invites you to come, to ask, to seek.
Don’t settle. There is so much more!
Blessings!
Tammy
Abide 
Leave a Reply