I love nature and find spiritual reminders in almost everything I see. I see God in it all because He created it. This morning, as I looked out across the lake, I was reminded that water mirrors our lives. Sometimes we are unstable and flow from one emotion to another. Most of the time we take the path of least resistance. Sometimes we are calm and serene, and at other times the things around us make us tempestuous, like the waves of water in a storm. Water is a necessity of life. Sometimes, our lives reflect waterfalls and springs of life when we allow our faith to be a source of spiritual vitality, renewal, and continuous outpouring to those around us.
The Bible uses imagery such as living water to describe spiritual refreshment. A spring of water is a natural source continuously fed from underground, not temporary rain. The spring is a continuous source. It can survive only by staying connected to the source. To stay vital and alive, we must stay connected to God. Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as “living water” welling up within believers in John 4:13-14. He was speaking to a woman at the well who came in the middle of the day to draw water. She was not a woman other women wanted to associate with, but Jesus took time to offer her living water. This living water would provide inner peace, joy, and resilience that never runs dry during life’s droughts.
John 4:13-14 “Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Waterfalls have different character traits than a spring. It freely pours out water without holding back. This is how our lives are to be if we are connected to Christ. He is the living water that lives within us. As we grow in Him and understand what He has done for us, we cannot help but overflow like a waterfall. God loves us with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3 “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” He shows kindness to us as in Titus 3:3-4 “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared.” A waterfall pours out water so freely that anything in its path gets wet. It refreshes everything it touches. Is this the way you affect your family, friends, and others you may come in contact with in your everyday life? If you start your day spiritually filled, you cannot help but overflow; you just naturally spill over to those around you.
Springs and waterfalls are both flowing water that sustains our ecosystems. They quench our thirst and bring life to dry places. This summer in Alabama, we had weeks on end without rain. My plants suffered, and some died. It was a constant battle to keep enough water on them to survive. It took effort and planning. Our spiritual lives are no different. We are not fed through osmosis. To survive spiritually, we must take in the living water Jesus offers daily. We must have a plan and put in the effort to execute it. The Word of God is alive, and it will change us when we absorb it into our souls. In our daily walk, our words and actions can refresh those who are weary. It offers encouragement, hope, and comfort to those going through difficult seasons. Their lives may be like the hot, dry summer we experienced this year, and they need help to navigate this dry season of life.
Water can be a dynamic, unstoppable force. Waterfalls and rushing streams push past obstacles, carving out paths through solid rock. When we face life’s trials, we need to rely on God’s strength to move forward with purpose and perseverance, trusting that His grace makes a way even in difficult circumstances. Are you trusting and leaning on the Living Water? Are you studying to fill your soul with so much living water that His love, goodness, and kindness gushes out of you and overflows onto anyone in your path? Are you purposely going where you can share your living water like Jesus did with the woman at the well? People all around us are thirsty. Some are parched with the heat of this world. Others are so dehydrated that they will die without Jesus, with no hope of ever being given the living water if you do not offer it to them. It is time that we all become waterfalls for Jesus. He is the living water, but we must be the vessel to hold it and share it with others.
