It is obvious why this post took the longest time ever. What blessing that is derived from Christ’s finished work begins with the alphabet “Q”? I was wavering between “Quenching of spiritual thirst” and “Quietude” and finally decided to write about both!
Quenching of Spiritual Thirst
We can clearly observe in society that there is an insatiable thirst in humans that cannot be satiated by material wealth, great achievement, human love, powerful control, extreme thrills, nor worldwide fame. No matter how much of these a person has, there is always a feeling of emptiness, meaninglessness, a yearning for more. It is as if there is a hole in the heart that is yet to be filled. It was St Augustine of Hippo who described this emptiness well in this prayer in his autography: “Thou has made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in Thee”.
Jesus recognized that human beings are not mere flesh and bones but have an eternal spiritual dimension to them. He saw that to quench that undying spiritual thirst of humans, sinful man has to be restored to right relationship with God. This is made possible by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Knowing his finished work will make available a reconciliation of separated humans with God, he told the Samaritan woman: “Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water (from the physical well) will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him (the Spirit) shall never thirst; but the water (the Spirit) that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life (italics mine).” The spiritual blessings of the Spirit’s presence in us are multi-faceted and satisfies the deepest void and hole in our life. It is so complete that one may not have any of the earthly possessions or experiences that humans mistakenly seek, and yet be able to find full satisfaction and deep contentment through a trust relationship with Christ. In another setting, Jesus gave this invitation to people: “If anyone is thirsty let him come to Me and drink.” It is by coming to Christ and believing in his finished work on the cross that we can truly find satisfaction and true contentment. Our thirst will finally be quenched.
Quietude is another blessing
The dictionary defines “quietude” as “a state of stillness, calmness and quiet in a person or place”. The picture I get is of a person with utter serenity and unruffled poise in the midst of the challenges and difficulties of life. Jesus death and resurrection proclaims God’s character to us. God is love and seeks our well-being and wholeness. God is good and intends only good, never harm. God is wise and knows the best means and plans to achieve his purposes. God is all powerful and in total control though sometimes it appears that nothing is going right. When we exercise child-like faith in this loving God, we cannot help but find our troubled soul gradually find itself stilled, and calmed, and quietened. Our prayer will be, “Father, I do not understand, but I trust Your love, Your goodness, Your wisdom, and Your power. When we do this “quietude” will be established within our soul.
This is part of a planned series of writings on the topic, “The A to Z of Christ’s Finished Work”. I am writing it alphabet by alphabet. Thus far the others that I have written can be found HERE.