Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land (Proverbs 25:25).

I grew up in Ohio but now live in Amsterdam.  I love the experience of trans-continental existence, for the most part.  But there are days when it can be very, very hard.  The hardest days are when a parent is going through an operation, or when a sister is having a baby, or even when the hometown sports team is playing its biggest game of the decade.  The 4000 miles of separation seem so much more pronounced on those days, when my only umbilical to the situation is communication from other witnesses.

But you wouldn't believe how refreshing it is to hear good news from a distant land!  It really is like cold water to a weary soul...

These days we're more fortunate than previous generations -- in that our channels of communication are more numerous, more varied, and more instantaneous -- but still, we depend on others to bring us good news from distant lands.  This Proverb is a good reminder of the power we have in simple words and thoughts.  The words we speak (and write and type) and the news we share provide us with a powerful ministry.  We can keep people desperate, or we can quench their thirst.

There's an obvious application to the Gospel, too.  Romans chapter 10 spells it out quite clearly:  "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.' For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile -- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'"

Again we see that we can keep people desperate, or we can quench their thirst.  So let's raise cold, clear glasses of water in a toast to Good News -- and then let's live out our calling as thirst-quenchers.