“Will a man leave the snow water of Lebanon, which comes from the rock of the field? Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters?” Jeremiah 18:14

Flowing Waters

When I was a kid, my family would hike forest paths on some weekends, just to get away from the city where we lived. This was back before the days when people would carry water bottles everywhere they went. In those days, we drank water when we were thirsty, or from a hose in anyone’s yard, or from a drinking fountain, and never thought about it otherwise. We would have laughed at the thought of buying water at the store, or needing a certain amount each day.

Inevitably, we kids would get very thirsty on these hikes. But my parent always admonished us, “Don’t drink water that isn’t moving over rocks. It’ll be stagnant and might have diseases and germs in it.” And oh, how refreshing a drink of cold, clear, running water was when we found it! We lifted handful after handful to our mouths, and splashed it on our overheated, pink cheeks. Whereas moments before we thought we would surely perish (you know how kids are: “We’re DYING of thirst!”…), now we were saved, able to continue once again.

God uses this analogy when referring to His people who forget Him, the Fountain of Living Waters, inevitably landing the people squarely in a desert of isolation, destruction, and sickness. People that once knew but now forget God have somehow become satisfied with murky, impure water that never actually quenches their thirst. It’s just something they turned to without considering whether it was good for them, or would lead to a bad taste in their mouth at the very least, or sickness and death at the worst.

God places within us, His children, a “holy discontent,” a certain something (the Holy Spirit) that pulls and draws us to the Living Waters, and away from our dry, desolate lives. Left on our own, we tend to be spiritually content (that is, content with our current knowledge of God and spiritual state.) What will it take to awaken the sleepers (Ephesians 5:14, Romans 13:11)? What will it take to return the backsliders (Jeremiah 3:22)? It will take God Himself, drawing us.

Let’s help each other hear God calling us into His presence. Let’s remind each other that He is the healthy, flowing, clear, refreshing Living Water, provided for us all. Let’s cultivate that holy discontent by turning our back on the things of this world, and turning our face to Him. Let’s learn to respond to the Holy Spirit when He moves in us.

“Blessed Lord, You have drawn us to Yourself, the Living Water. May we never be satisfied with anything less. I pray that we would be sickened by our sin, that we may turn to You again, for You always offer life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”