Homesick for Jesus
Today’s Verse:
And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate! ~2 Samuel 23:15
I enjoy traveling abroad and doing missions trips. During these trips, I have the privilege to train men, preach the word, win souls, and have my heart revived. However, after a few days, I am ready to go home. I become homesick for my family, home cooking, and my home church. Homesickness is when we miss the familiarity of the people, places, and things we typically are involved with every day. David was in a hold during a time when the Philistine mounted a strong attack on his home town of Bethlehem. Being in that hold for a period of time made David homesick for Bethlehem. Let us see a powerful lesson on being homesick for the things of God.
We see an insatiable desire.
“And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate!” David was living miles away from Bethlehem. One day, he realized that the water from the brooks and streams he drank from was not as satisfying as the water from the well of Bethlehem. The water from that well was cool, refreshing, and unlike other water. David was homesick for the only water that satisfies! Jesus is the water of life. He told the woman of Samaria that whosoever drinks of the water that he gives shall never thirst again. We need to be at the place in life where we are homesick for Jesus! May we have a desire is that we would rather have Jesus than anything else in this world.
We see an incredible devotion.
“And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the Lord.” Three of David’s mighty men overheard him praying out loud for this water. The conditions for going to Bethlehem were not safe. The Philistines had a garrison there. However, these three men wanted to do something for David’s homesickness. So together they devised a plan whereby they would break through the garrison, draw the water out, and bring it back safely to David while watching each other’s backs. These men risked their lives to help bring the water of Bethlehem to David. David could not go back home, but these men risked their lives to bring part of Bethlehem back to him. We can do what we can to help bring Jesus to people who love him. I believe that Paul in his preaching, his personal work, and in his writings helped Christians who were homesick for Jesus.
We see an impassioned demonstration.
“But David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the Lord.” When David realized these three men risked their lives to bring this water to him, he was touched in a special way. He could not fathom selfishly drinking this water. Instead, he poured this water as a drink offering before the Lord. The pouring out of a drink offering is a picture of a life that gives of his all for the Lord. David was more revived and refreshed by the devoted actions of his men than he would have been if he drank that water. He saw a rich and important spiritual lesson for his life. He learned that even though we might get homesick for Jesus, this does not mean we should stop making sacrifices and giving our best and all for him. David learned that day that these three men would do anything for their king. This reminded him that even when we desire to be with the Lord, there is still more faith to exercise, more prayers to be prayed, more souls to be saved, more laborers to be called to the harvest, more money to give, and more ways to love the Lord.
We should desire to be close to the Lord, even to the place to depart and be in heaven. When feelings of homesickness for heaven come upon us, let us be inspired to do more to show the Lord how much we love him.
Have a sacrificial God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Zechariah 8-14