“Restless, irritable, and discontent”

“Give me this water so that I don’t get thirsty.”

Jn 4:15 NIV

In Alcoholics Anonymous’ twelve-step program those seeking recovery are taught that when they become “restless, irritable, and discontent” they’re in danger of going back to their drug of choice. And that doesn’t work! Why? Because inside each of us there’s a God-shaped blank that only He can fill. Some of us try to fill the blank with human relationships. Jesus met a woman who’d been divorced five times and was now living with her boyfriend. The conversation went like this: “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.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty’” (vv. 13-15 NIV). Your body tells you when it’s hungry and thirsty. So does your soul—and if you’re wise you’ll listen. The only “safe” addiction is total surrender and dependency on God! We all have a tendency to respond to what our flesh craves instead of what our spirit needs. So we turn to things like work, sex, and entertainment. Now we’ve added a new one—the Internet. Psychologists are actually treating people with “Internet addiction.” Honestly! King David had it all: power, popularity, pleasure, and possessions. But it left him empty, so he wrote, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God” (Ps 42:1 NIV). Learn to recognize when you are “restless, irritable, and discontent,” and reach for God.

Share