Living Water

Dehydration kills those who are lost, in a wilderness place, or anywhere without water. This deadly thirst has several phases. It begins with eudipsia which is “ordinary thirst.” The next phase brings bouts of hyperdipsia or “temporary intense thirst.” Last is polydipsia or “sustained excessive thirst” that drives people to drink anything including urine, blood, even poison.

Besides physical thirst, there is a thirst of the soul, a deep longing for a drink of a better life, of a certainty about the big issues such as what happens after I die? And can I be forgiven and start over again?

Jesus call all those with this thirst to satisfy themselves in Him. Not only that, He will use any who do this to satisfy others who are thirsty.

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” (John 7:37–38)

I know what it means to be satisfied in Jesus. He answers my questions and fills me with confidence about my eternal destiny. The part that I don’t fully realize is being a source of living water for others. I’ve sensed their spiritual understanding and satisfaction at times, but never felt that I had much to do with it.

Chambers says that “a river touches places of which its source knows nothing.” By personifying the river, I can see the reality that my life has little to do with the outflow. Its source is God. Living water is His doing, and He rarely allows His people to see the blessings they bring to others.

Chambers also describes the persistence of a river. Whenever the flow comes to an obstacle, it might pool up and be unable to go on, but not for long. The river makes a way around whatever is blocking its path. It may go underground, but will emerge later. His flow of living water is like that.

The lesson here is to keep drawing near to the Source and He will either take me around obstacles or remove them. I’m not to pay too much attention to whatever gets in the way, but give my attention to God and His Word. Through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, He will widen the power of the water He flows through me, and that living water will flow into the lives of others.

These are wonderful analogies that bless me. I cannot see what God is doing but I can rejoice in His promise to make use of my life as I trust Him.

A great concluding thought comes from a quote by John Flavel. It concerns the place where this living water and my life is going. He says, “As all the rivers are gathered into the ocean, which is the congregation or meeting place of all the waters in the world, so Christ is that ocean in which all true delights and pleasures meet.”

Amen!