What kind of water are you drinking?

37On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. - John 7:37-39

While strolling by a stream near my home one day, I saw some birds and ducks, wading in and drinking the water. As I watched them, I thought about the impurities like bacteria and organisms lurking and thriving in that water. So it made me think what kind of water are we drinking as believers?

Unlike you or I, if we consumed that same water, would become physically ill. Why? Because it’s not fit for our consumption.

Quiet as it’s kept many of us are drinking from a well of polluted spiritual water.

The Israelites made this same mistake. Look at the words from Jeremiah 2:13, that the prophet brought forth to them from God:

“For my people have done two evil things:
They have abandoned me—  the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!”

Four Unhealthy Types of Water Believers Drink

Believers tend to drink from a pool of 4 unhealthy types of water:

1. Entertainment – Our society as a whole is drunk on the polluted water of entertainment. Believers have fallen victim to this as well. Whether it’s binge-watching your favorite Netflix show or sadly for many, viewing adult entertainment, Christians have fallen prey to the ruler of this world’s beverage.
2. Media/News – I don’t need to tell you how much our media and news have influenced our thinking and way of life. So much so that the church has taken its cues on many issues from abortion to same-sex marriage from the world instead of from the Word of God.
3. Politics – This too has permeated the hearts and minds of believers to the point of excess. We of all people should understand and recognize that the government is on the Lord’s shoulders.
   We need our hearts and minds filled and saturated with the Holy Spirit, not the world.
4. Tech – Being married to an IT professional, I know firsthand how dependent we are on technology. My husband has about every gadget, and like so many, a special affection for cell phones. The access that technology has afforded us is unprecedented. However, like any good thing when we have too much of it, it no longer becomes a good thing, but a tool that the enemy uses to distract us.

As you can see from the above, when we drink in the world’s water of entertainment, technology, social media, politics, you name it, we are drinking from a well of polluted and impure water.

The cistern mentioned in the passage from Jeremiah is representative of the reservoir of our hearts and minds. Our minds and emotions can easily become contaminated as we allow worldly impurities to come in and prevent us from seeing God.

Jesus declares in John 7:37-38 that anyone who is thirsty and who believes in Him could come to Him and drink and He would fill their hearts with rivers of “living water”.

RIVERS OF LIVING WATER

Jesus explained to the Samaritan woman that He would give her “living water”. He said this knowing that the water she was drinking would only satisfy her thirst temporarily.

The water we drink from entertainment, social media, news, etc.. is water that is only satisfying for a moment. This water, as Jesus remarked, will make us “thirst again”.

As we strive to follow Christ’s example, it’s important to drink deeply the “rivers of His living water” provided to us through His living Word and through prayer.

Let’s not take our cues from our society’s “cracked cistern”.

The well that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman over 2000 years ago is still available to us. The truth of what He said to her speaks to us today. Once we begin to drink from the “living water” of the Word of God – it becomes a living, bubbling well inside of us.

Bubbling over into eternity with our Lord Jesus, who is the very definition of “LIVING WATER”! (John 4:14)

Be Encouraged!

Prayer: Father, I thank you for the rivers of living water you’ve given to us generously through Your Word. Help us to not lean to our own understanding, but to trust You and the living water you provide that can quench our parched souls. In Jesus’ name! Amen!