Do you feel, at times, that you are in a spiritual drought? Learn to tap into the streams of living water.
In the UK we usually don’t associate winter with drought! In fact, as I am writing this blog, the rain is persistently coming down!!! The local TV news often reports on flooded areas around the River Severn and some businesses and home owners seem to be blighted by one flood after another. Many are unable to get Insurance Cover because the floods have become so frequent.
Water is so important, but it can cause a lot of damage too. Thankfully, we’ve not been in position of having our home flooded, but we know what it’s like to have a flooded kitchen due to a ‘misbehaving washing machine’, or having water drip through the lounge ceiling!
The conversation that Jesus had with a woman who came to draw water from a well (John 4) is, in my humble opinion, one of the most fascinating conversations in Scripture! Jesus uses the ordinary things of life to get across a vital Scriptural principle. As you know the woman at the well didn’t grasp this at first, but at the end of her conversation with Jesus, I believe she was no longer in a ‘spiritual drought’! She had, first hand, come to know what it means to experience ‘the living water of life’.
Do you feel, at times, that you are ‘in a drought’ (spiritually)? If so, there’s no reason to feel guilty because there is a solution!
In a drought everything suffers and dries up, leaves wither and die, especially if the roots are shallow. What we are going through at the moment can be like a drought, and can be reflected in different ways in our lives. It may be a lack of community, health, work, finances or friends and family. We’re all seeing a ‘lack’ in our lives in some area.
During a drought, the only places that don’t dry up are those areas that have a natural, internal spring of water – and you and I have one. But we must intentionally tap into it.
Jesus said:
Remain in Me and I will remain in you
John 15:4
The sap of a plant naturally rises to feed it. Our relationship with Christ requires that we ‘deliberately’ remain/abide in Him. When we do, the Spiritual sap rises up to feed and nurture us. We don’t have to ‘remain’ for hours and hours, that’s not realistic for most people, but we can take moments throughout the day to check in with Him, tune our ears, listen intentionally and lean into Him.
We can also intentionally praise Him despite everything, and that too turns a key that releases the flow of Living Water. When we ‘remain in Christ’, our friendship with Him grows stronger, our roots go down deeper and the internal river continues to flow, despite the external environment, bringing hope, joy and peace. So, in this time of ‘drought’, let the spring of the Water of Life that is in you bubble up to feed, refresh and sustain you.
‘I heard the voice of Jesus say, Behold I freely give; the Living Water; thirsty one, stoop down and drink and live’. I came to Jesus and I drank of that life-giving stream; my thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him’…..