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“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” —Jeremiah 2:13
Jesus said that rivers of living water would flow out of the lives of those who believe in Him. His living water would brim over from the wellspring of the Spirit within us, quenching our thirst and touching the parched lives of those around us. The life of the Lord Jesus is a constantly flowing stream, a river even, keeping us fresh, filled, and satisfied.
We stop the flow, however, when we try to reservoir God’s spring of living water in our lives. We become cisterns — holding tanks for past victories or other people’s ideas. At that point, we have forsaken the spring of living water. We have tried to store that which cannot be saved, we have tried to keep that which must keep flowing. The result? Our lives lack freshness and freedom, and we become stagnant pools reflecting old experiences and tired testimonies.
God says that these cisterns of our own making will break. What we try to save, we will lose. The warning is clear: Throw out the broken cisterns and get in the glow of God’s spring of living water.
If you know anything about springs and cisterns, this warning in Jeremiah 2:13 should be easy to grasp. A spring is a flow of water from the ground, often a source of a stream. A cistern is a large receptacle for storing water. Don’t rely on yesterday’s experiences or last month’s victories. God wants to give you fresh, thirst-quenching life each new day. So start with this prayer...
Jesus, the Living Water, I thirst after You. May Your life in me not be a trickle, or even a small stream, but a river. I confess my sin, clearing away any obstruction that might hinder Your flow in my life.