April 17th, Day 37

Author: Dan Pervorse

Church: Church of the Vine

John 7:37-38
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

I lead a mission team each year to West Africa to help drill water wells in villages out in the bush to provide the people there with a clean, healthy water source. Without such a well, the people are left to find water wherever they can. It might be from a pond, lake, river or even just a large puddle found in a depression in the land. They might have access to a hand dug open well. They typically may have to walk several miles each way to obtain water at any one of these water sources, all of which can be muddy and contaminated by runoff and water borne diseases. Yet because the human body will die within 3-4 days without water, they will drink the bad water in order to quench their thirst.

Just like our physical bodies, our spirits have a thirst that must be quenched. WE each have within us a thirst for spiritual fulfillment. Way too often though we chase after things in an attempt to quench the thirst that only God can quench. We might try to quench that thirst through our career, our finances, that perfect car or house or through a relationship. Although any and all of those can be good things, they are like drinking muddy, contaminated water when we use them to quench our deepest thirst within our spirits.

Jesus said if we’re thirsty to come to Him and drink. The result will be a flow of Living Water into and out of us. The prerequisite though is that we have to be thirsty for God, not the illegitimate things of this world that we pursue to try to quench that thirst. His Living Water will flow out of us as long as we stay thirsty for Him.