The woman said to Him, " Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." John 4:13-15
This is a portion of the conversation that took place between Jesus and the Samaritan woman who met at the well. I have read this story a few times but when I read the woman's response to Jesus recently, the Lord showed me something. I saw that the natural water in the well represented the world & the flesh. I saw the very act of the woman going to that well & lowering the bucket down & pulling it back up full of water which she then carries back to her home. I saw the need for her to do this every day. I thought of the water itself and how it satisfies the thirst for a while but there is a always a need for more. I can appreciate that now that we are living in a desert. It seems like my thirst can never really be satisfied no matter how much water I drink. That woman began to understand that the living water that Jesus spoke of would mean that she would not thirst again or have to go to the well to draw water. I think of the past and how I would 'go to that well' to satisfy my thirst for the things of the world. Before I knew Christ, that list of things I tried to satisfy with included the same things so many others are trying to satisfy their thirst with. After knowing Christ, I still found myself 'going to the well' to quench my thirst. The things I was pulling up out of that well were: good works, emotional experiences, popular & charismatic television preachers, a new, deeper revelation of scripture (given, of course, by those same preachers), looking to those people who I thought were so much more 'spiritual', and even relying on worship music. The end result was that the satisfaction I got from those things did not last. Sometimes they only left me covered up in condemnation because I saw my failure and weakness when I compared myself to those 'more spiritual' people or the 'high' didn't last. I kept going to that well and pulling up those things because I thought that was what I needed to do. Even though I was saved, I did not know Jesus as the source of that fountain that I needed. I see now that my faith was in those other things to satisfy my thirst. I see now that He alone is the source of that constant flowing fountain of life water! I also think that so many in the church are not even looking to the water in the well to satisfy their thirst but are finding their satisfaction in the very act of going after the water...the 'works' of it...they don't even recognize that they're thirsty!
How do I receive the Living Water? I ask...by faith. I take my focus off of me & put it on Him. I worship Him for who He is and what He has done for me, not what He can do for me. I see my need for Him as my source, not those other things. I understand that I am nothing without Him. I see that His work on the cross is a finished work and I am in Him and He is in me. I have the source of the fountain in me and it's an ever flowing spring! My faith in Him alone keeps me quenched! When I feel dry & thirsty I look to Him. I realize that if I do feel that way, it's only because I've begun to trust in another source. What is that fountain? It's the Holy Spirit!
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| Balmorhea State Park pool. |
Balmorhea is called the 'oasis of the desert' because of the San Solomon Springs just 4 miles outside of town, in what is now called Balmorhea State Park. The park itself is 46 acres and has a 1.75 acre freshwater pool built right over the spring. Scuba divers enjoy the deeper parts of the pool because of the beauty of it. There are many different types of fish & even turtles in it. The pool is completely spring fed and a canal runs from it and extends in a network of canals that irrigate thousands of acres of farmland. A canal runs right through mainstreet Balmorhea. Another canal feeds Balmorhea Lake. This spring puts out a constant flow of 22-28 million gallons of water a day! So much is dependent upon this ever flowing water. The water is almost always flowing through town but occasionally it's not and we know it is being diverted elsewhere to irrigate fields. We also see it navigating the network of canals throughout town and being directed to flood certain yards so grass will grow. That fountain of fresh water springing up and flowing here & there bringing life to whatever is fed by it.
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| There is another arm of the pool to the right...it's big! |
If we know Christ, we have no need to look to any other source to satisfy our thirst. Jesus said in John 7:37-38..." If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." Believe in Jesus and His finished work on the cross! Ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit and believe that He will give you that flowing fountain of living water! Drink & be satisfied!
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Thank you for praying!
We love you all!
