Sacred Steps | Week 2 | Pastor Kevin Kringel
Sacred Steps: A Deliberate Walk with God Towards the Cross
Week 2Finding Living Water in Dry Places
Everyone gets thirsty. The question is where we go for water.
“God often meets us most clearly in the places where we feel empty, dry, and desperate.”
“God often meets us most clearly in the places where we feel empty, dry, and desperate.”
1. THIRST IS PART OF THE JOURNEY
Exodus 17:1–7
Israel is following God, yet they still end up without water.
Important observations:
• They weren’t lost.
• They weren’t rebelling.
• They were following the cloud of God's presence.
And still — they were thirsty.
Key line
“Sometimes obedience leads you into places that feel empty before they become places of provision.”
The wilderness is not always punishment.
Sometimes it is development.
Examples in Scripture:
• Israel in the wilderness
• Jesus in the wilderness
• Paul in the desert after conversion
Psalm 23 promises green pastures, but that is not the whole journey.
Wilderness seasons often reveal what is in us.
What came out of Israel?
They asked:
“Is the Lord among us or not?”Exodus 17:1–7
Israel is following God, yet they still end up without water.
Important observations:
• They weren’t lost.
• They weren’t rebelling.
• They were following the cloud of God's presence.
And still — they were thirsty.
Key line
“Sometimes obedience leads you into places that feel empty before they become places of provision.”
The wilderness is not always punishment.
Sometimes it is development.
Examples in Scripture:
• Israel in the wilderness
• Jesus in the wilderness
• Paul in the desert after conversion
Psalm 23 promises green pastures, but that is not the whole journey.
Wilderness seasons often reveal what is in us.
What came out of Israel?
They asked:
A deeper question behind the question:
Can God be trusted when life gets dry?
2. THIRST CAN HARDEN OR SHAPE US
Psalm 95
Psalm 95 reflects back on the Exodus story.
“Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
The issue was their response to disappointment.
Dry seasons expose the heart.
Two possible outcomes: When hardship comes
Blame God Trust God
Hardness Formation
Complaining Deeper faith
“Dry seasons don’t just reveal our thirst — they reveal our hearts.”
3. JESUS IS THE LIVING WATER
John 4:4–30, 39–42
Now the story shifts.
Exodus — a whole nation is thirsty.
John 4 — one woman is thirsty.
• a Samaritan
• a woman
• socially rejected
Yet Jesus chooses her for the longest theological conversation recorded in the Gospels.
“Jesus doesn’t shame thirsty people. He fills them.”
Augustine said something powerful:
He wrote that this woman represents us — the Gentile church.
How many wells have we drawn from?
• relationships
• success
• religion
• philosophies
• addictions
• achievements
Yet none satisfy.
Jesus' invitation
Jesus says:
“Whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst.”
“Jesus used our thirst to draw us toward more of Himself.”
4. THE INNER RIVER
Romans 5:1–11 Paul reframes hardship.
We used to see “suffering” (trouble, tribulation, oppression, hardship, challenges) as punishment. Now we see them as formation.
Paul says suffering produces:
• perseverance
• character
• hope
And then he says something profound:
“God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”
So now we walk through wilderness seasons differently.
We are not empty.
We carry a river inside of us.
• Everyone gets thirsty.
• Dry places are inevitable.
• The real question is where you go for water.
• character
• hope
And then he says something profound:
“God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”
So now we walk through wilderness seasons differently.
We are not empty.
We carry a river inside of us.
• Everyone gets thirsty.
• Dry places are inevitable.
• The real question is where you go for water.
ALTAR RESPONSE
“Today we’re not just talking about thirst — we’re responding to it.”
“Today we’re not just talking about thirst — we’re responding to it.”