Living Water

Gò0dNews for Everyone

Living Water

by Katie Loveless

Irecently marveled at how casually a significant relationship seems to wax and wane in my life. The most tender spot stems from how casually they enter and exit when what I really long for is continuity—a stay. As I prayed about it, God used this concern as a teachable moment to correct me. Isn’t that often what I do? Isn’t that sometimes how I worship? I come into His courts with praise, and then I leave. I enter His gates with thanksgiving, and then I go on about my day murmuring. I casually stroll into the presence of God, and then I exit when what God is longing for from me is continuity—a stay. I want my relationship to be one in which there is no punctuation. There is no beginning and no ending—always with Him and Him always with me.

I want to lock eyes with Jesus. I don’t want to go where He is not. I don’t want to be where He is not. And where He is on the move, that is where I want to be moving too. I began to think about water and how many of us get thirsty and visit wells for our supply. Wells of entertainment. Wells of knowledge. Wells of wishful thinking. Wells of nostalgia. Wells of judgement. Wells of superstition. Wells of tradition. In the natural sense, satisfying our thirst with well water has limitations. We must be in proximity to the supply. We also need a clean supply of water free of sediment and harmful pollutants. Finally, we need a reliable way to access the water.

Friend, let’s remember that Jesus is our most significant relationship. We can stay tapped in to our source at all times. He came to revitalize our drinking habits. He came so that we wouldn’t have to go in search of people, places, and things outside of us but rather that we could draw from a fountain of life that springs forth from the inside of the life dedicated to Jesus.

The story about Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well explains it all. He used a conversation with an outsider to reveal to us that we, too, are an outsider in need of a Savior and in need of a divine supply (see John 4:9-18). So many of us don’t have access to clean drinking water in the spiritual sense. We may feel lost and undone—thirsty and 34 // June 2022

searching. Jesus came to make a way as He says: “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14, KJV).

Later Jesus says again: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth of me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37b-38, KJV).

Maybe you’re like me and going through drought in meaningful relationships. Maybe, you are dry and dusty from being cut off from the source of things or people previously significant to you. Maybe, you don’t feel worthy to drink anything at all to free your tongue from the roof of your mouth.

Beloved, it’s not all about what is going on all around you. It is about the stirring that takes place from the inside. If you are willing, invite God into the dusty places of your soul. Ask Him to come and fill you as only He can. Ask Him to cause water to come that springs up into everlasting life. Ask him to stir up a well of water that will never run dry.

About The Author Katie Loveless is a social worker, wife, and mother of five boys. She is a student of grace who enjoys writing, gardening, and empowering others to pursue stability.