“I Thirst”

Posted on April 16, 2022 by Todd D. Nystrom

Photo: The view looking west from atop High Dune in Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, Colorado. © Todd D. Nystrom and Todd the Hiker, 2020.

John 19:28-29 – After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.

Introduction

“I thirst.” As I considered these words of Jesus, three things stood out. First, as the passage states, prophecy was being fulfilled. Second, an immense price was being paid for the forgiveness of our sins. And third, even in the agony and suffering of our Lord, we can find the promise of eternal life.

Prophecy Fulfilled

As the passage directly states, Jesus words were meant “to fulfill the scripture.” One of the places we can turn to find prophetic words foreshadowing Christ’s suffering and death is Psalm 22. Verses 14 and 15 are especially poignant when it comes to the passage at hand, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.” Another place to turn is Psalm 69:21 where we find these prophetic words relating to our passage, “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink,” which plays out in the guards’ response to Jesus’ thirst.

Even with the many prophecies fulfilled in Christ’s life and in his crucifixion, as well as several occasions where he foretold his own suffering and death to his disciples, there had been an expectation of an earthly king and kingdom which in this moment would appear to be lost. If we had been there, we probably would have had similar expectations and lost hopes; although, from our vantage point we know that Jesus offers much more.

A Price Paid

Which brings us to the next point; this passage confronts us to consider the price that had to be paid for the forgiveness of our sins. We see before us on the cross the Creator of the universe in agony, thirsting for the very water he created, suffering and dying one of the more cruel and painful deaths invented by the mind of sinful man, demonstrating that although he was fully God, the great “I AM,” he was also fully man.

Even his closest disciples did not fully grasp this despite witnessing the many miracles he had performed during his earthly ministry demonstrating his divinity. He turned water into wine, he fed the multitudes with a few fish and loaves, he exercised dominion over his creation by walking on water and calming the storm, he healed the disabled, sick, and blind, and brought the dead back to life, and yet here he hung on a cross, suffering an unjust and agonizing death alongside common criminals. Paul sums it up well in Philippians 2:5-8, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” An immense price, indeed!

The Promise of Eternal Life

Finally, Jesus’ words bring to mind the promise of eternal life, particularly the one found in John 4:13-14. Jesus’, in his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, makes this promise, “Everyone who drinks of this water [that is, the water from the well] will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

“I thirst.” Jesus’ words on the cross fulfilled prophecy, they confront us with the immense price Christ paid for the forgiveness of our sins, and ultimately point us to his promise for something much greater than just the satisfaction of our physical thirst, they point us to the promise of eternal life with God.

Enter by the Narrow Gate

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Todd D. Nystrom

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” ~Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV)

Private Arch, Arches National Park, Moab, Utah.

Private Arch is located on a side trail off the Devil’s Garden Primitive Loop in Arches National Park. As the name Devil’s Garden suggests, this trail traverses a fairly harsh landscape and the primitive loop is an even more challenging trail that fewer visitors to Arches NP actually hike. On the day we visited, private is exactly what we got. Though the parking lot at the trailhead was bustling with visitors, and the easier sections of the Devil’s Garden trail were filled with a continuous stream of hikers, because we chose to take “the road less travelled,” we really had an opportunity to spend a little extra time enjoying the beauty and solitude of this hidden little corner of God’s creation.

Like the passage from Matthew’s gospel suggests, good things don’t always come easy. Whether it is enjoying the beauty and solitude of a remote, less visited place in a busy national park, or the eternal life offered by following our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the best destinations often require us to travel a more difficult path.

If you want to find your way to the less visited, scenic corners of our amazing national parks you either need to hire a guide who knows the trails or have a good map and the skills to read and follow it.

In our Christian walk we are equipped with the best map available, the Bible. But more than that we have the Master guide himself, who has gone before us, paying the price for our sins, and who through His mercy and grace is ready to show us the way.

Christ is the narrow gate through which we enter, and though the path may at times be hard, the reward of this challenging journey is nothing less than eternal life with our Master in His glorious kingdom!

Yours in Christ,
Todd the Hiker

He Has Put Eternity into Man’s Heart

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Todd D. Nystrom

What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 (ESV)

View along the Grand View Overlook Trail, Island in the Sky District, Canyonlands National Park, Moab, Utah.

The open spaces and seemingly infinite views of the American west provide us with many iconic landscapes that encapsulate our nation’s deep seated spirit of independence and freedom. Our recent trip to Canyonlands and Arches National Park fully met, and perhaps even exceeded, my expectations of amazing vistas and endless photo opportunities. I have yet to decide whether these places are a photographer’s dream or nightmare, as incredible scenes surround you every step you take along the trail. The real challenge is deciding what not to photograph!

As we would pause on our hikes to gaze out upon yet another magnificent panorama, I could not help but reflect on the vastness of the wilderness that lay before us, and ultimately my thoughts would turn to my own smallness in contrast to the infiniteness of our mighty God who created all of this. What is it about scenes like the one in this photograph that give us pause and lead us to great moments of reflection?

Beautiful places like this serve multiple purposes in God’s sovereign plan. On one hand they are simply a gift from God given for our enjoyment and relaxation. On the other hand, they are also intentionally designed to stir deep feelings within us. As the writer of Ecclesiastes tells us, these feelings come from God, who “has put eternity into man’s heart.” God has made us in His own image, and part of that image is a mind that allows us to consider things beyond ourselves, beyond the physical horizons before us, beyond the moments in which we currently live, and eventually to things eternal.

And yet, while we may ponder the eternal, we will never have all the answers, in fact this passage tells us we “cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” We cannot know the mind of God, nor will we ever fully understand His ways, but thankfully he has given us hearts that desire eternity. Ultimately that longing we feel is a longing for God, a longing for a personal relationship with the Almighty Creator, Himself. In our fallen, sinful state, though, our desires lead us to pursue things other than God as we try to fill the void within us.

But praise God, because he has not only given us a desire for eternity, he has also given us a means to fulfill this desire! He has given us an amazing creation that points us to Him. He has given us his written word, the Bible, that tells us how to fulfill this desire. Above all He has given us the Living Word, His own Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who, through His perfect life, undeserved death, and glorious resurrection, gives us the only way to fulfill this desire and spend eternity with Him beyond our brief and tiny lives here in this world.

To God be the glory, forever and ever! Amen!

Yours in Christ,
Todd the Hiker

Press On Toward the Goal

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Todd D. Nystrom

Philippians 3:7-14 (ESV) – But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith–that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

A view looking west from one of the side trails along the unofficial Star Gap Arch trail. The furthest ridge in the center of the photo is our goal on this hike.

On a backpacking trip to Kentucky’s Red River Gorge early this fall, we decided to explore a trail that was new to us, the unofficial Star Gap Arch trail. Though I knew from our outrageGIS map and the description in Jerrell Goodpaster’s book, “Hinterlands,” that there were many spectacular views along the way, and at the end of the hike, there were still a few times we considered turning back. The hike was difficult at times, involving rock scrambles and thick brush; but, having a goal in mind and some idea of what lie ahead, were key to our perseverance.

A closer view of the end point on the Star Gap Arch trail.

Even though you may not get a complete picture of what to expect when hiking in a new place, or even on a new trail in a familiar place, it is worth taking time to do some research. Studying topographic maps, reading a guide book, or finding online reviews from other hikers, can give you motivation to both start and complete a new adventure.

The final climb up the ridge at the end of the Star Gap Arch trail.

In many ways our Christian walk is like a hike in the wilderness. Fortunately, God has given us the ultimate guide book for our journey, the Bible. However, the Bible is far more than just a simple guide book it serves a much greater purpose, pointing us to the ultimate goal, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Personally knowing the author who actually wrote the guide book is our best assurance of all. We will probably never endure the trials that Paul suffered, but we still need to realize there will be good times and bad, easy days and difficult ones in our lives, but with Christ we can be certain that we will make it to the end.

One of several spectacular views that awaits you at the end of the Star Gap Arch trail.

There is a price to taking a backpacking trip, we give up modern conveniences, endure difficult terrain, and occasionally suffer cuts and bruises, but getting to experience the beauty of God’s creation along the way and the spectacular views at the end of the trail make it worth the effort. There is also a cost to following Christ, the Bible makes this clear, but how much more incredible will the end of our life’s journey be when we “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Read more about my “God is Revealed…“ category of posts