John 4:13-14 – Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (NIV 2011)

As I was waiting for my friend to arrive so that we could go on a bike ride, I found myself watching the clock, as if the phone would ring by my staring at the clock. I knew that my friend had been detained and that she would phone as soon as she finished with her appointment, but all I could do was wait. Then, I remembered reading a story about a minister who was frustrated when a couple to whom he was supposed to give some counseling didn't show up for their appointment on time. The minister told his secretary that he would wait thirty minutes for them, and then he went and sat down at the piano in one of the Sunday School rooms. It was in that waiting room that Richard Blanchard was inspired to write Fill my cup, Lord, which was based on the Scripture about the encounter of the woman of Samaria with Jesus at the well.

All of us have times of waiting and watching. You may have heard the John Lennon quotation, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Or we could say that life is what happens to us while we're waiting for something else. It's so true, isn't it?

Richard Blanchard is credited as saying, "When I was not in the mood to be used of God, God was in a mood to use me." In the words of his hymn, Fill my cup, Lord, Blanchard reminds us that all of us need the gift that Jesus was offering the woman at the well. Each of us needs the cup of living water that will quench our thirsty soul.

As we wait and watch — in whatever way that may look like in our lives — may we see God's direction in our waiting.

Prayer: Loving and gracious God, we thank You for those times of waiting in our lives. Help us to look to You, especially in those times of waiting, and like the woman at the well, grant us that living water that will quench our thirsty souls. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Ruth McCowan <rbmccowan@shaw.ca>
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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