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

Going up to Zion...

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths..." Isaiah 2:3

Ever sit down to read your Bible and all you can think is, "Shouldn't this feel more like a desire than a duty?" I do. I'm guessing it's a common problem every child of God encounters from time to time. Hectic schedules, family problems, job hassles, and other annoyances often crowd up our day to such an extent that by the time we finally get a chance to sit down, we'd rather watch TV or read a magazine. Studying God's law and learning more about His character doesn't always make it to the top of our to-do lists. And if we do get around to it, we're often too distracted anyway.

The second chapter of Isaiah describes a time in the "last days" where all the nations will gather at the mountain of the house of the Lord. Once they encounter God on this mountain of Zion, their chief concern seems to be learning more about God's laws. They want to become more acquainted with His ways and to "walk in His paths" (verse 3). True, a day of reckoning immediately follows (or perhaps coincides with) this gathering at the mountain, so one might argue that anyone might be more motivated to learn about God's laws in the midst of His terrible judgments. But there are plenty of reasons to study God's Word regardless of what is happening. Here's three of them:

• Learning and obeying God's law brings peace. I don't think it's a coincidence that the next verse in Isaiah describes the aftermath of not only God carrying out His judgment, but also of His people learning about His perfect law: they hammer their weapons into tools and "never again learn war" (verse 4). Knowing who we are in Him is the most peaceful place we can be. It helps us lay down our weapons of distrust and self-pity and to reshape them into tools that can be utilized in His kingdom.
  
• Learning and obeying God's law brings love to others. In fact, under the new covenant set in place by Jesus' death and resurrection, God's law IS all about love! Paul wrote to the Romans that "he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law" (13:8), and in James we learn that if we are obeying God's command to love others, we are "doing well" (2:8). And Jesus told His disciples that people would know that they are His followers if they had love for one another (John 13:35).
• Learning and obeying God's law helps us to work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12). While we are saved by His grace, His law is just as important if we are to know how to carry that salvation out in our daily lives. That's why the people were concerned not only about learning God's law, but also about walking in His paths. God wants us to continually seek Him and to do His will every day of our lives; knowing His laws is pivotal to doing this. That way we know if we're on the right path!

Whether we are reading the Bible, serving others, or just sitting at His feet and listening to Him intently, God can teach us all He wants us to know. We just have to be willing to climb that mountain and make it a priority. Want to climb it with me? :o)