Living Water

John 7:37,38

“…Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “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.”

Jesus is the One who satisfies the thirst of our (my) heart. To long for Him, to have a thirst for His Word and want to know Him, is my new desire. When someone falls in love, they want to get to know everything about the other person. That’s what happened, I wanted to know Him!

This living water is His Spirit. You are filled with His Spirit when you receive Jesus. As we ask, the Spirit comes upon us. Worship in “Spirit and truth” (John 4:23), the Word says.

Pastor Jon Courson explains it this way: When you are saved; you step in the (living) water. You’re up to your ankles, standing on the promises of Jesus. As you walk toward heaven, you go a little deeper in your walk and you become aware of impotence in your life. You call on the Lord, and you’re up to your knees in prayer. You walk a little further…you want to see others saved. You start witnessing the love of Jesus and ministering to anyone who will listen and you’re up to your waist-this is a picture of a productive life of the Spirit (secret to contentment as a single).

Then, finally, you come to a place where you cry out, “I just want to be over my head in You Lord, immersed in Your Spirit. I no longer want to control my life or my destiny. I now let go- it’s Yours. My life is Yours. Take me Lord. Sweep me off my feet. Baptize me in your power. Do with me as You wish.”

The cool thing is, it’s yours for the asking. All we need to do is ask. Jesus said, “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” (Luke 11:13) Declare it in faith, and watch the water, it will bubble to the surface of your life like a river running below under your feet, following you wherever you go. Eph. 5:18-19 says, “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

I learned God speaks to us through His word. Now I wanted to know who He was. To know Him is to truly love Him. I knew this could never be a one sided relationship. It’s likened to calling a friend and speaking to them, but no one’s on the other end responding.

I longed to hear Him, so I would pray first for God to fill me with His Spirit, and give me spiritual understanding as I read about Him. I would pray expectantly. I found myself not wanting to fill my mind with other things; only Him. The more time I spent with Him, the more I changed. People, who knew me before I surrendered my life to Christ, knew something wonderful had happened to me. I was not the same. Never to return to the hopeless, empty life again, I had found an abundant life. Wow…and I was being transformed Word-by-Word as the Holy Spirit lead me and taught me.

I came to Jesus, the Rock, who already provided a flow underneath the surface. It’s there, so may your heart sing out expectantly, may it be full. Receive it by faith today. And may the Lord cause you to be over your head in Him. May the Holy Spirit carry you along the river as you experience His love, refreshment, joy and power.

God Confirms With His Word

A sweet way, in which the Lord loves to teach and grow me spiritually, is to repeat His Word. For example, a scripture may speak to me in my daily devotions, and then at church the pastor shares the same scripture as in my devotion. I might also hear it in a song on the radio, or through a friend stating, “I was praying for you, and the Lord put this scripture on my heart for you”. God has His way in speaking to us and I believe it is continual. I believe that He wants to speak to me every time I open the Bible. I actually look forward to what He is going to say next. I have learned that this is His will and His way of communicating with us, His children.