7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
John 4: 7-15 NIV
7min read
It was Sunday in late September, and I was sitting in church listening to worship music at the commencement of the service. And I received this revelation, ‘He is the life giving water. We cannot go without water for 3days. What do we become when we turn away from His life giving water?’
I don’t know about you, but over the years I have come to understand ‘The Rule of 3 in Survival.’ And one that stands out to me is that we would commonly only survive for 3 days without water.
The Rule of 3 in Survival.
The general timeframes are:
• 3 minutes without air (oxygen) or in icy water.
• 3 hours without shelter in a harsh environment (extreme heat or cold).
• 3 days without water (hydration).
• 3 weeks without food (nutrition).
And it got me thinking about how our bodies need water. I don’t know about you, but as I’ve matured I’ve come to understand why my body needs water and water alone. Not coke, or caffeinated drinks, not juices or stimulating beverages. And as this thought penetrated my mind it intrigued me to think: What would I be like if I did not consume Jesus, the life giving water for 3 days? Jesus calls Himself the eternal, living water that quenches thirst and never runs dry. He instructs us to drink from His well so we can take in the living water that runs through our body, which then cleanses and nourishes our souls. He is the water that sustains us. Without Him what would we be lacking?
I know for myself when I abstain from being filled by His living water, I feel dry, I feel empty, I feel a lack of peace and joy. And I find myself desiring anything that provides a counterfeit to the true peace and joy of Jesus. But it is not lasting, it is not filling, it is forced and fake. And I find my heart beginning to harden. The Word of God instructs us to not harden our hearts, but to turn away from sin, and repent. I believe one of the factors that cause us to not be filled with the life giving water is a lack of repentance. When we do not desire to repent we believe the whisper of the enemies lies, telling us that ‘what we have done is not so bad,’ ‘that it wasn’t our fault’ or ‘we don’t have to apologise.’ We make excuses for the hardening of our hearts and we are no longer open to receiving His life giving water, the spiritual sustenance that is Jesus. We need to Repent to Receive.
1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
Matthew 3: 1-3 NIV
Repentance to me begins with an awareness of sin. And through my awareness, it is a confession with my mouth and a grieving in my spirit, to the actions that has caused a disconnect to the Spirit of God. The longer I go without repentance, the easier it is for my heart to turn away from God, and no longer desire to return to the life giving water. I am making a choice to walk a path away from God’s presence, instead of turning around and receiving Him. When this happens I find myself lacking in sorrow for my own sins. I find myself pointing the finger and more easily inclined to making excuses for my poor behaviour. I find that I am no longer emotionally connected to my own feelings. I am no longer weeping and crying out to God, instead I’m holding it all together and refusing to let it pour out of me. My heart is hardening. I believe there is always something that we can repent of, as small or big as each day brings. And the more we are inclined to make excuses for our actions, the less we are able to connect to God and receive His forgiveness. We need to Repent to Receive.
I know even with my husband, the times I refuse to seek His forgiveness and apologise, the less connected I feel to him. There’s a barrier there, where words of repentance should have been spoken and our hearts should have connected, but I’ve declined that offer to show up for us, leaving a void in our relationship. This is how I feel with God at times. It’s not Him! It’s me. I’ve declined to drink from His life giving water and do what He says I should do, Repent! And I’m left feeling parched and dry, lacking and disconnected to the source. For further reading take a look at the blog- Who told you, that you were Naked? https://godlywives.blog/who-told-you-that-you-were-naked/
And it’s so beautiful to think that our God is so merciful, gracious and kind. That when we humble ourselves and get down on our knees, repenting and crying out to God, asking for His forgiveness, that His source, His peace, His joy comes flushing in like the water we need to sustain us. And just like that it’s a renewal to our bodies. It’s that feeling we get when we are thirsty, and the water that runs through our body, hydrates us. It’s life giving. It’s a source that carries us through.
19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord
Acts 3: 19 NIV
I sometimes don’t understand why God so easily forgives me? And it in turn makes me want to weep some more. The evil that I have allowed to consume my mind, the words I have spoken over myself and my husband, the frustration I have allowed to take over my body and entitlement I am given over to that holds me back from seeking forgiveness. These are all forms of burden and bondage that prevents me from receiving the peace and joy that comes with His life giving water. Today is the day of repentance. Do not wait till tomorrow. Tomorrow is not promised. So let this time of refreshing soak deep into your spirit and be with His life giving water.
Nadia x
All for His Glory.
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