“On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, ‘Anyone who is thirsty may come to Me! Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, “Rivers of living water will flow from His heart.” (When He said, ‘living water,’ He was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in Him.)” (John 7:37-39a NLT)
One vital factor when considering the issue of living water is that it’s always active, never stagnant. Living water flows in and through, it’s not looking for a place to be stored, but to be actively enjoyed and shared with others who are thirsty.
In an entry from Days of Heaven upon Earth I recently read: “Some of us are troubled, wondering why the Holy Spirit doesn’t fill us. The problem is that we have plenty coming in but we are not giving out to others. If you will give the blessing you have received, planning your life around greater service and being a blessing to those around you, then you will quickly find that the Holy Spirit is with you. He will bestow blessings to you for service, giving you all He can trust you to give away to others.”
So, the question then becomes, are we seeking to be vessels through whom the Spirit can flow or simply holding tanks where the Spirit is stored? Remember when Jesus asked His three closest friends to stay awake, when His heart was breaking and His spirit was being stretched, yet He found them sleeping He said: “Couldn’t you watch with Me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”
The clear implication to me is that before we can be channels of living water to others, we must bask in the pleasures of the Living Water’s presence ourselves. Waiting before the Lord, pondering His goodness, beauty, majesty, and glory, drinking deeply of His enriching, invigorating presence equips and prepares us to share His life and love with others.
Jesus is also clear in helping us understand our flesh gets in the way. As a human being, what we most long to have is something that satisfies our longings and sustains our fleshly desires, which, of course, run contrary to the Spirit’s desires in us. The only way to effectively fight against the desires of the flesh is to persistently and intentionally seek the presence and power of the Spirit.
Living water flows from the Savior’s life evidenced in and through a life that’s fully devoted and surrendered to His desires. Unlike the sleepy disciples, we have to want to please the Lord more than satisfy the deep longings of our own life. Like the disciples, we want to “sleep” rather than be alert and actively invested in sharing the Savior’s life with others.
The more we think about, pray about, live about the Savior, the easier it becomes to be awake to His holy water alive and flowing in and through our lives. We’re so prone to collecting and hoarding the Spirit we struggle with understanding how vital it is to let Him not only flow into us, but out of us. Worshipping with others and restricting ourselves to audiences with only those who know and love Him can be as dams to the flow of our life in His love and grace.
The Spirit’s presence is given to allow Him free rein, not only to dwell within us, but to flow through us to others who so desperately need Him in our spheres of influence. Please be aware and alert to how vitally important it is to be sensitive to His presence in you when you’re in the presence of those who have yet to “drink” of the water of life.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 