Jesus Christ, hanging lifelessly on the cross, was about to give up His spirit to God. A mere few breaths were left in His weary body. The Roman soldiers below mocked Him, telling Him to save Himself if He was indeed the son of God. His loyal followers were torn, watching their Savior slowly expire away. Jesus could have said many things at this moment, but His lone words came out ragged yet passionate: “I am thirsty.”

Just as Christ had been taken literally through all the metaphors He spoke, a soldier then soaked some cheap wine on a sponge and lifted it up for Him to drink. But Christ refused it. He wasn’t looking for the thirst we crave here on earth. He was thirsting for something else. Something that those Roman soldiers did not understand. With all his being, Christ thirsted for the everlasting water He would soon be drinking in heaven.

Christ had already referred to this thirst back in His ministry. When getting water from a well, Jesus said, “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” (John 4: 13-14, NIV).

Do you drink of this water daily? The same life-giving water that infuses our soul with purpose and energy? As we approach Easter next weekend, contemplate that question on a deeper level. If we drink of the water that Christ offers us, we should be able to conquer any obstacle before us. Suddenly stresses here for us at work are diminished. The battle of good versus evil has already been won for us on the cross!

So the next time we let a 13-year-old boy get the best of us, the next time our testing schedule gets changed for the 15th time because the system crashed again, the next time your supposed perfect lesson blows up in your face and mushrooms out like the aftereffect of Hiroshima, take a swig of that life-sustaining water that Christ is holding out for you. You will be refreshed, rejuvenated, and you will soon rejoice knowing that He has already defeated our adversary over 2000 years ago.