Searching for Fulfillment

Have you ever been thirsty? I mean really thirsty? So thirsty, that no matter how much you drank, it just wasn't enough? Perhaps you tried to quench your thirst with soda or juice or even milk. And then finally, when you got that nice cold drink of water, you realized that it was the only thing that could truly satisfy your thirst. Have you ever found yourself searching for fulfillment? Perhaps you have longed to be fulfilled by someone or something only to find that there is no fulfillment. It seems that the harder you search, the more unfulfilled you become. Not too long ago, I had the great privilege of joining together with a group of women to discuss what it means to be totally fulfilled. In essence, we discussed how to find the fulfillment we are so often searching for.

In John 4 we meet a woman from Samaria on her way to a well to get water. She recognizes that she has a need and sets out to do what is necessary to meet that need. At the same time, we meet Christ who understands that this woman's need is far deeper than the physical thirst she is coming to quench. And He sets out to meet that need. I love this encounter because it reminds me of the extent to which Christ will go to help me see that my search for fulfillment can never be met outside of Him. It reminds me of the patience He has with me even when I don't grasp what He is showing me immediately.

As women, we search for fulfillment in so many things. Like the woman in our story, we sometimes think we find what we need to be fulfilled only to be met with emptiness and a longing that continues to grow. We remain thirsty and repeatedly return to what is familiar to satisfy or comfort us, only to be continually disappointed. It is a cycle that will continue until we surrender whatever that thing is, to the One who desperately wants to fill us with Himself.

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14 (NIV)

We will never be fully filled apart from Christ. No matter what we might think we are thirsting for, the real thirst is for a deeper intimacy with Christ. Won't you take the drink that He is offering?