Spring Of Living Water
They were slaves for over 400 years, with no plan and no hope for deliverance. Then God sent Moses to bring them out of Egypt. With a mighty hand, miraculous signs and wonders, God ripped them out of Pharaoh’s tight grip. They crossed the Red Sea, journeyed through the wilderness, heard the voice of God, entered into an everlasting covenant to serve God and God only. God led them, won many battles for them and settled them in the land He promised.
However, not too long after God prospered them in the land, they departed from serving God, became consumed with a desire to be like the nations around them. They started worshipping the gods of the nations they conquered and lost connection with their God. The God that was so near, now became distant and in no time became forgotten.
They were lost in idolatry, but God made a move for reconciliation. He sent Jeremiah the prophet to show the people how far they had fallen from grace and warned them of His judgement if they do not repent. “I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness.” (Jeremiah 2:2, NIV). But now, they followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols.
God’s verdict was clear, Israel have committed two sins: they have forsaken the spring of living water and instead they have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (Jeremiah 2:13). How did they respond to Jeremiah? They forsook the call to repentance and ended up in exile.
Are we in danger of what the Israelites suffered? Have we forsaken our first love? Are we looking for satisfaction in things that cannot satisfy? If you have become weary and tired, and thirsty for a new awakening in God, then you must heed the call to return to the spring of living water.
Like He invited the woman at the well, Jesus is inviting us all to come and drink from His spring of living water. This is His promise, “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 4:14, NIV).
When the Lord seems far away from us, it is our sins that keeps us away from Him. Our response to a distant God is not to replace Him with empty religion devoid of true affection. It is not to substitute true worship with hearts filled with desires for other things, and lips that utter words we are not prepared to keep. No! Our response should be to desperately seek Him, like a deer panting for water. Nothing else will do but Him.
He must be our desire, not just His provision. We can’t have His power, if we don’t have His presence, and we can’t have His presence if we don’t have Him. Today is another day of the feast when Jesus is crying out “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has Said, rivers of living waters will flow within them.” ( John 7:37-38)
Let’s draw near today and ask the Holy Spirit to fill us afresh. May His church be thirsty again for a new awakenin in the Spirit. May we all drink from the spring of living water, filled with the vitality and eager to enjoy regular and consistent fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Amen!