In the Old Testament, Jesus was the Rock from which the Israelites were supplied fresh water in the barren wilderness (1 Corinthians
10:4). In the New Testament, He is still our source of living water. His
springs of eternal life give us a well of living water to draw from at any time
(John 4:13-14).
As God regenerates our spirit and heals our soul, there
are multiple rivers of living water flowing from our innermost being and
refreshing us and anyone who comes in contact with us (John 7:37-39).
If we do not feel this free cascade of life flowing from
within us, then there is a dam of negative emotions, unresolved conflict and
sin entrenched in our soul. They control the floodgate to God's living water
within us and block the rivers' flow.
Physically, if we are not thirsty, we will not drink. Yet,
when we are thirsty, we often eat instead of drink, thinking that we are
hungry. We gorge our self on food and are never satisfied, because we do not
fill our cells with the life-giving water they crave.
Spiritually, we actually need to come to Christ, our
living water; yet we often turn to sin to satisfy us instead. We miss out on
the life-giving water that Christ offers to this lost and dying world.
He reaches out especially
to those who realize they are poor and destitute without personal means to
obtain this living water by their own efforts (Isaiah 55:1). Without cost to
us, yet with great personal cost to Himself, Jesus freely gives us His living
water (Revelation 21:6).
His saving work continues through each moment of our life
(Philippians 1:6). We see a constant change in our thinking and behavior. We
gain spiritual understanding, power and maturity which flow through us to those
God brings into our life (1 Corinthians 2:11-16; Galatians 5:15-25; Ephesians
5:18-21).
Prayer:
Father God, as the deer pants after the water book to
quench its thirst, so too we thirst for You, our living God (Psalm 42:1). We
thirst and yearn for You in this weary, arid land where there is no other
source of the water of life (Psalm 63:1). Help us to humble our self under Your
mighty hand and to meekly accept Your living water, drinking freely until these
mighty rivers flow from our innermost being.
Your rivers of living water satisfy every part of our
spirit, soul and body. Peace and joy flood every cell of our being (Philippians
3:19; Nehemiah 9:20). Lead us to those in our life who are thirsting for You
and help us to offer them a drink from Your rivers of life within us.
Thought for the Day:
The Holy Spirit and the Bride say to the thirsty,
"Come;" anyone wishing to drink the water of life may come without
personal cost and drink of the rivers of living water flowing from the throne
of God and from within His Saints.
- Revelation 22:17; Psalm 78:15-16; Proverbs 4:23; Isaiah
44:3; Ezekiel 36:26-27, 47:1-9; Joel 3:18, Zechariah 13:1, 14:8
