Don't Settle for a Mirage

Have you ever watched a movie where someone was stranded in the desert and they were so beat down that they began to imagine an oasis? At that moment, it seemed so real to them, only to find out that there was nothing there but false hope.

A mirage is defined as an optical effect that is sometimes seen at sea, in the desert, or over a hot pavement, that may have the appearance of a pool of water or a mirror in which distant objects are seen inverted, and that is caused by the bending or reflection of rays of light by a layer of heated air of varying density.

If we look at this in a spiritual aspect, we have all been here at one point or another. Stranded in the desert, with what seems like no hope. We are striving for relief, only to find nothing. We get a glimpse of what seems like paradise, only to find out there was nothing there at the end.

We search and run and drink the false water, and wonder why we cannot seem to quench the thirst that is inside of us. In today's standards, what does that water look like to you?

It could be your phone, your friends, a family member, sports, the tv. There are so many things that we can fill ourselves with that do not quench the thirst within us. It won’t sustain, and it won’t satisfy.

Scripture tells us in Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” 

I was recently in my tent time and the Lord had reminded me that I was reaching for the wrong water. In those times where I am tired, I am dry, and I am beat down and don’t think I can make it, I am reaching for that false hope that will in time let me down just like a mirage in the desert. It looks promising, it looks sustainable, but once you reach it, it disappears and you are left with disappointment.

When Jesus met the woman at the well, she was in a similar situation. She was tired, she was broken, she was filling herself with the wrong water. She was outcast, she was rejected, and she was searching for something that she would never be able to find, until Christ showed up.

When Jesus tells her in John 4:10 “if you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.”

She replied and said; “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?”

 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.”

This gave the woman a new hope. She immediately said; “Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty, won’t ever have to come back to this well again!”

Jesus knew this woman intimately, without ever speaking with her before this moment. He knew what she needed, and he supplied that need. Jesus knew that she was broken, that she was tired, and He offered her the true and living water so that she may not ever thirst again. This is not a mirage, this is the paradise we have been searching for all along.

It’s very easy to relate ourselves to this woman sometimes. In her case, she had been married 5 times and the man she was living with was not her husband. Jesus knew this, and still chose her, because he saw the need that she had. This, my friends, is what we need to be reaching for when we are weary. Jesus is asking us to come to the fountain to be satisfied with Him.

Need to Breathe has a song called "Testify," and it starts off with the lyrics:

“Give me your heart, give me your song, sing it with all your might. Come to the fountain, you will be satisfied. There is a peace, there is a love you can get lost inside. Come to the fountain, let me hear you testify.”

This reminds me so much of the woman at the well. Jesus is telling her that He is the fountain. Come to Him and He will give you that satisfaction. Then she goes and testifies to others, who then come to the fountain.

By one encounter with Jesus, her life was forever changed. By taking the right cup, she will never thirst again. So I want to remind you all that when you find yourself stuck in a dry place, don’t run to the mirage that looks good. That looks full of life but isn't. Run to the Father and drink from His cup that is full of life and He will quench the thirst that you have been longing for.