Living Water

"Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation." Isaiah 12:3

Isaiah 12 is a brief but poignant chapter that focuses on thanksgiving. In the previous chapter, Isaiah prophesies about the reign of Jesus and how His faithful remnant will be restored. Such words of promise can only lead to songs of praise!

In verse 3, the prophet says that because God is our salvation and we have no reason to fear, we will "joyously draw water from the springs of salvation." I noticed in my Bible that the phrase "draw water" had a couple of New Testament references as well, both in the Gospel of John:

• John 4:10: Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman at the well and tells her that living water comes from God.
• John 7:37-38: Jesus cries out in the midst of a feast, saying "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me...'from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"

Furthermore, the phrase "spring of salvation" has another Old Testament reference, this time in the book of Jeremiah:

• Jeremiah 2:13: God says through His prophet Jeremiah that His people have forsaken Him, "the fountain of living waters," and have made their own cisterns that have no hope of holding any water.

Guess you can already tell that there is a theme here. LIVING WATER shows up in all these verses. Which got me thinking...how would we explain the term "living water" to the average person? This is my weak attempt at doing so:

• The water we draw from His springs of salvation is living water. It comes from Jesus Himself; His death and resurrection allowed us access to the living water. We draw from His spring with both JOY (Isaiah 12:3) and BELIEF since we obtain the living water by believing in Jesus (John 7:37). It is active and constant, and flows through our hearts. We have a thirst that can only be quenched by a constant supply of living water. Living water brings us not only salvation, but a deeper revelation of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God Himself. Forsaking the true Source of living water causes drought in our lives, and attempting to find it on our own (via "broken cisterns") also leads to drought.

In short...God saves us when we believe in His name; that's the first time we draw His living water from His springs of salvation. However, in order to see deeper revelations of His love, mercy, grace, and other aspects of His character and His relationship with us, we need to be constantly drawing from that spring. Much like actual water, we don't find satisfaction (or even the ability to continue existing!) by just one isolated drink. We draw living water from His spring by prayer, meditation on His words, and reading His Word. And if we maintain a full cup of His living water on a daily basis, we can't help but spill that water out onto other people through humble service, encouraging words, and the exercising of our spiritual gifts.

So seek after that living water that can only come from Him. Allow your thirsty spirit to partake of the only water that will truly satisfy. And remember, one drink is never enough!

"My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1