From the "Gracevine" newsletter for Grace Lutheran Church in Thornville, Ohio, July 2022.
Thirsty!
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. – Psalm 42:2 ESV (Monthly Watchword for July)
Summer has never been my favorite season. I don’t do well in the heat, and my skin burns easily from the power of the sun. I much prefer the cool of autumn and the cold of winter. Growing up in Minnesota, known for its cold weather, I felt at home there. But we had our share of hot days as well.
This July, I remember this time of year in 2007. I was a new pastor, not even a full year into my first year of ministry. Starting in September of 2006, that first year of my first call in northern Minnesota was intense. Doing everything for the first time, “learning the ropes,” and encountering lots of challenges was exhausting. That first year alone, I conducted seventeen funeral services, a heavy burden for a brand-new pastor to bear. I was also under stress because I knew my life would be changing soon; I planned on asking Theresa to marry me later that summer. With all this stress in varying forms, there were moments in that year when I was filled with doubt and wondered if I was cut out for the role of pastor. I needed to be renewed before entering my second year.
With my time off that summer, I connected with an old college friend. He and I wanted to spend some time in the wilderness. In the Bible, the wilderness represents both challenge and renewal. For a brief time of wilderness wandering, there is no better place in Minnesota than the North Shore of Lake Superior, what is jokingly called “the Scandinavian Riviera.” With its rocky shores, waterfalls, lighthouses, and many beautiful state parks, it is a popular vacation destination.
One of the hidden treasures of the North Shore of Lake Superior is a hiking trail that goes from the harbor city of Duluth, Minnesota all the way to the Canadian border. Similar to the ruggedness of the Appalachian Trail, the Superior Hiking Trail takes a few weeks for an experienced hiker to complete. My friend and I knew we couldn’t hike the whole trail, but we planned for a multi-day adventure on this trail, taking in the beauty of nature. But we soon faced a difficult reality.
That summer in Minnesota was hot and dry. Along this trail, one must obtain drinking water from various beaver ponds and creeks, treating it with iodine tablets or filters. It was so dry that summer that many of the water sources had disappeared. One day, with our water bottles empty, we searched in vain for a water source. We began to be concerned. On a wilderness trail with no water in the heat, it would not take long for dehydration to set in.
For our own safety, we had no choice but to cut our hike short. Our map indicated that the trail intersected with a county highway that led into the town of Silver Bay, Minnesota. Trudging along the trail and in need of water, I remembered the words of Psalm 42:2: “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” We reached the highway, a sign of civilization in the wilderness, and we followed it into town. At the first gas station we passed, we quickly bought and consumed some Gatorade with thankful hearts!
This experience was meaningful for me. I came to see that the previous year was one small part of the trail of life, which happened to be especially challenging. But it was not the end. Though there were moments of dryness, God was not finished with me, and he provided me with what I needed. Having some time away gave me a new perspective, and I saw God at work in my life. I found the strength to carry on.
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” The Psalmist long ago had a similar experience, though he does not go into detail about it. If you read the entire Psalm 42, he recounts many challenges he faced from adversaries. In it all, he remembered God’s faithfulness and longed to experience joy in the presence of God once again. He walked a difficult trail in the dry season, and he longed for his thirst to be quenched.
There are moments when our thirst is obvious. But dehydration can easily set in unknowingly. This is why it is so dangerous. We must always remember our need for God to keep us hydrated with the spiritual water that leads to eternal life, even in this summer season. In John chapter four, Jesus reminds a woman at a well of her need to drink from a different kind of well, and those words call out to us in our time: “The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).
Quench your thirst with the Word of God and the gifts of God in church this summer and always, and have a blessed rest of this summer season!
Pr. Tom Jacobson
Thirsty!
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. – Psalm 42:2 ESV (Monthly Watchword for July)
Summer has never been my favorite season. I don’t do well in the heat, and my skin burns easily from the power of the sun. I much prefer the cool of autumn and the cold of winter. Growing up in Minnesota, known for its cold weather, I felt at home there. But we had our share of hot days as well.
This July, I remember this time of year in 2007. I was a new pastor, not even a full year into my first year of ministry. Starting in September of 2006, that first year of my first call in northern Minnesota was intense. Doing everything for the first time, “learning the ropes,” and encountering lots of challenges was exhausting. That first year alone, I conducted seventeen funeral services, a heavy burden for a brand-new pastor to bear. I was also under stress because I knew my life would be changing soon; I planned on asking Theresa to marry me later that summer. With all this stress in varying forms, there were moments in that year when I was filled with doubt and wondered if I was cut out for the role of pastor. I needed to be renewed before entering my second year.
With my time off that summer, I connected with an old college friend. He and I wanted to spend some time in the wilderness. In the Bible, the wilderness represents both challenge and renewal. For a brief time of wilderness wandering, there is no better place in Minnesota than the North Shore of Lake Superior, what is jokingly called “the Scandinavian Riviera.” With its rocky shores, waterfalls, lighthouses, and many beautiful state parks, it is a popular vacation destination.
One of the hidden treasures of the North Shore of Lake Superior is a hiking trail that goes from the harbor city of Duluth, Minnesota all the way to the Canadian border. Similar to the ruggedness of the Appalachian Trail, the Superior Hiking Trail takes a few weeks for an experienced hiker to complete. My friend and I knew we couldn’t hike the whole trail, but we planned for a multi-day adventure on this trail, taking in the beauty of nature. But we soon faced a difficult reality.
That summer in Minnesota was hot and dry. Along this trail, one must obtain drinking water from various beaver ponds and creeks, treating it with iodine tablets or filters. It was so dry that summer that many of the water sources had disappeared. One day, with our water bottles empty, we searched in vain for a water source. We began to be concerned. On a wilderness trail with no water in the heat, it would not take long for dehydration to set in.
For our own safety, we had no choice but to cut our hike short. Our map indicated that the trail intersected with a county highway that led into the town of Silver Bay, Minnesota. Trudging along the trail and in need of water, I remembered the words of Psalm 42:2: “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” We reached the highway, a sign of civilization in the wilderness, and we followed it into town. At the first gas station we passed, we quickly bought and consumed some Gatorade with thankful hearts!
This experience was meaningful for me. I came to see that the previous year was one small part of the trail of life, which happened to be especially challenging. But it was not the end. Though there were moments of dryness, God was not finished with me, and he provided me with what I needed. Having some time away gave me a new perspective, and I saw God at work in my life. I found the strength to carry on.
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” The Psalmist long ago had a similar experience, though he does not go into detail about it. If you read the entire Psalm 42, he recounts many challenges he faced from adversaries. In it all, he remembered God’s faithfulness and longed to experience joy in the presence of God once again. He walked a difficult trail in the dry season, and he longed for his thirst to be quenched.
There are moments when our thirst is obvious. But dehydration can easily set in unknowingly. This is why it is so dangerous. We must always remember our need for God to keep us hydrated with the spiritual water that leads to eternal life, even in this summer season. In John chapter four, Jesus reminds a woman at a well of her need to drink from a different kind of well, and those words call out to us in our time: “The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).
Quench your thirst with the Word of God and the gifts of God in church this summer and always, and have a blessed rest of this summer season!
Pr. Tom Jacobson