Living Water

 Thought I would share a short devotional with you today...

Life began with water. Before the first day of creation, water covered the earth  and God's Spirit covered the water (Genesis 1:2)

Life depends on water - which is another way of saying that life depends on God, since it is God who gives water. When Hagar and her son Ishmael were exiled to the desert, God showed them a well (Genesis 21:8-21). When the Israelites wandered a barren wilderness, God led them from on e source of water to the next (Exodus 15:22-27). When there was none to be found, He brought water from the sunbaked rock (Exodus 17:1-7).

God used water to rescue people from oppression and injustice. The baby Moses escaped genocide among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. Years later, as he led a nation of just-freed slaves through the Red Sea, the waters crashed down behind them on 400 years of oppression. In John 's Gospel, Jesus described salvation  as being "born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5),

Its no surprise that water features prominently in the Bible, since all the Bible's stores took place in part of the world where access to water could not be taken for granted - as in many parts of the world today.

Even a relatively short period without water exposes the extent of our fragility. Without water, flesh and blood turn to dust. For we are dust, and to dust we will return (Genesis 3:19).

But there is a hopeful answer to this sobering reality:  God is the Giver and Sustainer of all things. He is our true source of refreshment. He brings life to dust. God sent Jesus to unleash streams of living water within us (John 7:37-38), just as He unleased water from a rock in the desert. He wants people to experience fullness of life - in this world and the next. God invites us to be part of His thirst -quenching endeavor, sharing the gift of water with those in need, both physically and spiritually.

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.’” Now this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39)

It interests me that Jesus tells us to come to Him and drink. Apparently if we do so, we ourselves will become sources of living water for other people to drink from. At least, that’s how I read “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”!

And Jesus isn’t talking about just a little water. He says “rivers,” plural—the water is so much and so great that it overflows our hearts in every direction, not just one. And as the Gospel writer John points out, Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God whom Jesus gives us to live in us.

But it all starts with coming to Jesus and drinking, that is, believing in Him. We put our trust in the One who loves us and who died and rose again to give us real life—life that will never end. He will quench our thirst.

People drink water when they are thirsty. That’s generally the only time they drink water, unless they are doing it for medical reasons—there are lots of other drinks available to people who want pleasure, or celebration, or relaxation. But if you’re truly thirsty, there’s nothing like cold clean water. And if you truly feel your need for something more than the everyday things of your life—if you feel that thirst for God—coming to Jesus in trust is the way to go. He will meet that thirst, and then some. He will give you the Holy Spirit, God Himself, to live inside you forever and satisfy your thirst on the deepest levels of your life. You will never go thirsty again.

And that sets you free to help other thirsty people—people who are looking for something more, something true and good and solid, they don’t know exactly what. You know, because you’ve already had a chance to “taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8a). And now you can offer that same gift of living water to the people around you. There’s always enough to satisfy everybody in need—rivers-full, in fact. The Holy Spirit is enough for our needs, and for the needs of the whole world.

We can be renewed when we drink and share - God's living water.