This is what the Lord says, “For My people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned Me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.” Jeremiah 2:13
Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again – ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life.” John 4:13-14
My words…
Praise
I smile when I read You referring to Yourself as the fountain of living water. I love fountains. The water leaps upward, then, when the droplets have reached their highest trajectory, they fall gracefully back to the water’s surface only to be replaced by the next wave. It is a continuous and mesmerizing water ballet. You could also be referring to Yourself as a flowing stream: fresh, cool water tumbling down a mountainside or springing up from the ground. Such a perfect metaphor of You as the everlasting, satisfying, restorative source of abundant life in which everyone is invited to drink.
Prayer for me
I am always saddened when I read about Your people abandoning You. The lure of a lifestyle so reprehensible in Your sight drew them away from You, the One who had provided for them and saved them in majestic fashion. Instead of relying on the fountain, they built cisterns to capture rainwater. They plastered the insides, but over time, the cistern cracked and leaked. In reality, they turned their backs on You and devised their own system to connect with another god. The god in the cistern. But just as water in a cistern grows stale, so does a false god. That god doesn’t move, doesn’t work, doesn’t cleanse. Let me pray this metaphor over my life. Through the Prophet Jeremiah, Your Spirit is asking me, “Do I forsake the living fountain for the god in the cistern?” Am I drawn to a habit, a time-waster, a social norm, or any temptation luring me off the path I am walking with You? Move my spirit to recognize it! Once recognized, I pray for pardon and the strength of Your Spirit to lead me back to our path.
Prayer for others
Lord, I pray for those who know You but have abandoned You. They hear the rush of the flowing stream and the spray of the fountain, but they turn away from it and stand at the cistern. I have been praying for such a person, and You have graciously moved in him to turn back toward the living fountain. All praise to You for this amazing transformation! Do it again! (Please.)
More praise
I praise You, Father, Son and Spirit, for offering water, that once swallowed, will quench my spiritual thirst forever. I drink You in, and a well of water springs up within me now and forever. I am a well-watered soul!
