Drink Deeply

I am somewhat addicted to a television show on one of the science channels. It is called "Survivor Man." The basic gist of this show is that this survival expert equipped with only camera gear (with which he alone records his expedition), a multi-tool and a few odds and ends, is dropped off in the wilds of everything from the frozen tundra north of the arctic circle to a barren desert to survive for 7 days. He is forced to find shelter, food, and clean water. His ingenuity facinates me as he creatively turns ordinary items into things which keeps him alive. Often, he is compelled to purify his own water when little or none is available. However, one of the things that I noticed is that whenever he comes upon a source of pure flowing water, he always does the same thing. He plunges his face into the surface of the water and drinks deeply of the sustaining life giving flow.

I still have been unable to get used to is God's mercy on me. The Apostle John in his first letter speaks of God lavishing His love on us. Having been introduced to His grace at an early age, like the people of Israel, I prostituted my heart to the things of the world. And even still, I chase after that which is stagnant and does not satisfy the deep longing of my heart. Scripture is filled with descriptions of God's mercy that pours out on His beloved.

Isaiah 55 is one great example. The whole chapter is fraught with invitations to come to Him and find refreshing. Verse 1 begins this theme, "Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;" and continues through the chapter with much of the same. But of course, as we read God's word, the best way to interpret it is to keep it in context. Who is He talking to in these verses? He is extending this invitation to a people who are about to come out of 70 years of Babylonian exile having been disciplined for prostituting their hearts in idolatry and immorality. They didn't deserve His mercy, they deserved to be forgotten. But instead, He tells them that He is about to restore them to Himself. "Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (vs. 7)

Perhaps you find yourself wandering in the wilderness just trying to survive. He calls to you and longs to give you that which deeply quenches your soul, His mercy. Will you try to continue satisfying yourself with stagnated water that the world has to offer and cannot satisfy? Instead, drink deeply of His mercy, for it alone can satisfy.