But whoever drinks of the water
that I will give him shall never
thirst; but the water that I will
give him will become in him a
well of water springing up to
eternal life.
John 4:14
Water
is something we take for granted. It has been a lifelong friend and
necessity for all of us. While we may drink it in various forms, we
also have water in the foods we eat. When it rains, we benefit from
it's moisture even to the point of humidity in the air that we
sometimes don't care for. We have fun with water. If you are a
boater, fisherman, water skier, swimmer or just a wader in a stream,
water can be most enjoyable. We bathe in it for cleansing and
doctors scrub in it prior to surgery while some folks have to have it
for various forms of therapy.
Water
is prominent in Scripture beginning with it's creation in Genesis 1.
Not too far into Genesis we meet Noah and his family who are living
in a time where civilization was evil to the core. God made a
decision to wash it all away and begin again with Noah building an
ark in preparation for a massive flood that would destroy everything
except for those harbored in the ark.
In
Exodus we meet Moses leading a very ungrateful people out of slavery
in Egypt. Along the way, rations dwindled and there was a need for
food and water. Amazingly along with manna from Heaven for food, God
also provided water from a rock. Amazing....water from a rock. They
had already crossed the Red Sea where the power of water was shown in
it's fullest, but no fuller than the power of God who controlled it.
An
important use of water was/is for baptism. John the Baptist baptized
people in his day and had the privilege of baptizing Jesus in the
Jordan River. Jesus saved His disciples from drowning in the Sea of
Galilee during a storm. He also washed His disciples feet using a
basin of water. So water has been down through time vital for many
reasons, especially keeping a human body hydrated.
When
droughts come bringing a desperation for water, people do any number
of things to encourage rain. There has been seeding clouds, praying
for it and even digging for it. Many farmers I recall had wells near
their houses. I remember drinking well water while at the farm of a
relative. It tasted so different, so good and so cool.
Jesus,
in John 4, sat down at a well in Samaria and spoke with a woman who
came mid-day for water. There were two things wrong with this as the
Jews of that day would see it. First Jesus was in Samaria. Jews
would walk many miles around Samaria without entering it. Next, he
spoke with a woman at the well, especially with no one else around.
He had sent His disciples for provision. All this was put to one
side because Jesus had a message for this woman and the same lesson
that would come down through the centuries to us.
When
Jesus saw this woman, He engaged her in conversation on the subject
of water. She was thinking of physical water that would have tasted
good at that time in the heat of the day. However,, Jesus had a
different kind of water in mind. He spoke to her of spiritual water,
a water that would never run dry. It would flow from the inside of a
believer and hydrate that believer in ways physical water could never
do. She appeared to be fascinated with what He was teaching and
became a believer almost on the spot. She couldn't wait to tell
others of this experience and many of them too sought that spiritual
water Jesus spoke of.
So
how does anyone experience that filling spiritual water Jesus spoke
of then and still makes available to people in our day?
*Without a salvation experience, spiritual water isn't available. This point cannot be ignored.
*Once saved, we will stay refreshed by being in God's Word, drinking from it in abundance.
*Prayer is that connecting water hose available to us that keeps us refreshed and blessed in so many ways. Prayer is our lifeline to our Heavenly Father.
*This spiritual water needs no well, will never become scarce, but is available constantly no matter where we are or the circumstances.
*Without a salvation experience, spiritual water isn't available. This point cannot be ignored.
*Once saved, we will stay refreshed by being in God's Word, drinking from it in abundance.
*Prayer is that connecting water hose available to us that keeps us refreshed and blessed in so many ways. Prayer is our lifeline to our Heavenly Father.
*This spiritual water needs no well, will never become scarce, but is available constantly no matter where we are or the circumstances.
Just
as Jesus spoke to that Samaritan woman that day, so He extends the
same information and invitation to people today. Sometimes while pouring a glass of
cold water into a glass, we might want to reflect and thank Jesus for
that spiritual water available to us with no well or faucet
required
Father,
thank You for Your Son Jesus, the giver of that water to every
believer from Him that is always available to us. Thank You for it's
strengthening and sustaining power in our lives. Thank You too for
the refreshment we find in You every day. Keep us close and in Your
Word daily. Forgive us of our sin and keep us close in these days of
evil and confusion. Amen.
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