The Art of Thriving – The Well That Never Dries
As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Psalm 42:1-2 (NKJV)
On a hot Middle Eastern afternoon, more than two thousand years ago, a scene plays out at a well that would not only impact the life of one woman but would have a ripple effect far beyond the plains of Samaria. Far beyond time and place. The moment when Jesus encounters the woman at the well is a Kairos moment. A moment, ordained by the Father before the foundations of the world. When Jesus asks her for a drink of water, she is perplexed. How could he, a man and a Jew, be asking her for a drink since Jews would have nothing to do with Samaritans? What she found even more perplexing were the words that Jesus utters. Words that would resound through countless generations.
“If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah! John 4:10,14,26 (NLT)
The Aching in Our Souls
Our souls have a natural longing to be satisfied. We tend to yearn for something to fill the empty spaces, the aching in our souls. Often, we don’t know what that something is. The Samaritan woman had an aching in her soul that she tried to satisfy with men who were not her husband. This, however, did not give her the satisfaction she had been longing for. Just like the Samaritan woman, we will at times look in the wrong places to fill the ache in our souls. But our souls can only be satisfied by the gift that God has for us – His living water. John says in John 7:38-39 that Christ’s living water is His Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit produces in us the fruit that we need to nail our passions to the cross and crucify them there (Galatians 5:22-26). As we nail them to the cross, we will be filled with a desire, a thirst for His living water. Let us drink deeply from His well that never runs dry, so that our cup runs over and we thrive. As we thrive, rivers of living water will flow from our hearts, bubbling over, touching souls for His kingdom.
And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. Revelation 21:5-6 (NLT)
Reflection
Are you drinking from Christ’s living water to satisfy the longings of your soul or from another source?
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for Your gift of living water. I pray that my soul’s longings will be satisfied in You alone. Protect me from drinking from wells that bring decay to my soul. Fill me with Your water of life so that I can thrive and be a blessing to others. In Jesus’ name, amen.
