READ: PSALM 63:1-5; JOHN 4:1-14; 7:37-39; PHILIPPIANS 4:11-13

Imagine how good it feels to take that first sip of cold water after a long, hot run. Imagine how good it tastes to take that first bite of your favorite meal after you’ve been smelling it cooking all day long. Water and food sustain us. We need them to survive, and it can feel so good to consume them, especially in more desperate times.

Now, think about how God is our living water. Jesus said to a woman He met at a well that if she believed in Him, she would never thirst again. That doesn’t mean physically. We will always need food and drink to survive on earth. But think about how much food and water mean to us. If God says we will never thirst again with Him, that’s a big deal.

God is everything we need. He gives us life. He gives us purpose and meaning. God helps us through the hard times and gives us joy. He is our living water. He is enough for us.

Jesus is God the Son, sent by the Father to die for us and rise again. Before He went to the cross, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). And during the last supper, Jesus broke bread and gave it to His disciples, saying, “‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it’” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). In communion, the bread is broken, and we remember how Jesus’s body was sacrificed for us.

Because of Jesus’s death and resurrection, He promises that everyone who trusts in Him will have His presence with us always—and the sure hope of eternal life to come. When we know Jesus, He not only sustains us, He satisfies us (Psalm 63:5) and fills us with “a glorious, inexpressible joy” (1 Peter 1:8). • Bethany Acker

• Jesus is the bread of life, and He gives us living water, which is the Holy Spirit (John 4:14; 6:35; 7:39). Why do you think God describes Himself as bread and water? How might this help us understand Him better? (If you want to dig deeper, you can read more about communion in Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.)

“But those who drink the water I [Jesus] give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” John 4:14 (NLT)