John 4:13-14, NIV
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water i give him will become in a him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
We live in an old house. The oldest part of it was probably built about 400 years ago. Shortly after moving in we needed to do something about the paving at the front of the house. It was in a very bad condition and needed to be dug up. One of the workmen put in his spade at a certain point and it disappeared down a deep hole! Little by little they removed the ground at that point and suddenly, much to everyone’s surprise they realised that we had been walking over and parking our cars on top of a deep well! With a long piece of measuring string I discovered that there was over 50 feet of fresh water in the well!
Today we have an old-fashioned hand pump and can pump up as much water as we could possibly need whenever we want it. The construction of the inner walls of the well are such that it must have been there a very long time – it was probably the only source of water when the first house was built on the site.
Over the years I have watched the level of water in the well very carefully – no matter how dry the weather, the level never varies. I can pump hundreds of gallons out of it and within a very short space of time the well has been replenished. Beneath the ground there are hidden springs and it seems impossible to pump the well dry.
The spiritual water that Jesus was talking about to the woman in John 4 is very much like that. We may draw on the sustenance that comes from the water of life, and see how our lives can bless others in a dry and thirsty land, but the supply never runs out – and it is the very best quality water you can find anywhere – even better than the most exciting of sparkling waters you can find anywhere on the planet! When we know Jesus and are filled with His Spirit, the well of our lives is fed by a secret underground spring of this wonderful water, which will flow and flow and flow. No wonder Jesus was able to say to the woman at the well that you will never again be thirsty.
If right now you are feeling very dry, ask Jesus to show you anything that is blocking the flow of His Spirit into your life, deal with it and then invite the Holy Spirit to fill you afresh and for the rest of your days be a source of His ever-present supply of the water of life, that will always satisfy your spiritual thirst and never run dry.
Prayer: Thank you Jesus for showing us how to be constantly refreshed by the flow of your Spirit through our lives. Help me to be ever-conscious of others who are stretching out for “water” in a dry and thirsty land, be willing to share this wonderful truth with them and be a means of God’s wonderful grace to them all. Amen.
Living the Life – Book by Peter Horrobin
Arise and Build – Teaching By Peter Horrobin from recent Arise! Conference
