Living Water

“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” -  1 Peter 1:8-9

Have you ever eaten a really good steak? I am talking about the kind of steak that ruins all other steaks you will ever eat. Or how about a wonderful vacation…have you ever been on a vacation that was so relaxing and refreshing that nowhere else can compare? How do we express this kind of satisfaction and joy? We talk about our experience, don’t we? We tell other people about it, singing its praises. And the ultimate expression is to enjoy it again by going back.

How do we know if we truly love God? We will talk about Him, telling others how wonderful He is. But the ultimate expression of love for God is to enjoy Him so deeply that you continually return to Him, the source of your satisfaction and joy. The psalmist said, “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). Once we have truly tasted the goodness of the Lord, nothing else will satisfy our souls.

Did you know that God defines evil as twofold: First, rejecting the satisfaction that He alone offers and second by trying to satisfy ourselves our own way? Look at what He said about His people in Jeremiah 2:12-13. “Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked…declares the LORD, for My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Notice that God is not referring to pagans, but to His own people…the ones He had chosen, ransomed from slavery, blessed, provided for, and set apart as dearly loved.

God describes their rejection of Him as appalling. It is shocking that they not only doubted and refused His sufficiency, but also thought they could “build cisterns for themselves.” These self-made attempts are broken, cracked, and ineffective. They “hold no water,” much less the living water that is only found in His Son.

How ridiculous is it to profess with our mouths that God is supreme, the One and only God, yet to forsake Him by not continuously enjoying and returning to Him? Once we have tasted His goodness and experienced His all-surpassing satisfaction, nothing else can compare. So why do we wander, searching elsewhere for the fountain of water that only He can give? It is because we need His grace not only to believe in Him, but also to continually return to Him, to enjoy Him, to love Him above all else.

Dear Father, You are all I need; and there is nothing better than You. Please help me to live this truth today by enjoying You supremely. 

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.