His Living Water Fills Us

This evening I was feeling emotional heartache and felt like I needed to take a walk even though this morning I had already walked for an hour.  So I left the house again and traveled on a different route than I normally take.  I was headed toward Spring Creek and came to the bridge that crosses over Beaver Creek.  I knew that I needed to get close to the water.  I have always naturally navigated toward water even as a child. 

I remember as a child at my family home in Briery Branch that I would go back into the field near the woods and play in Briery Branch River.  It didn't matter if it was scorching hot out with tall grass and brush that I needed to go through taking a chance of stepping on a snake or getting a tick on me.  I found a way to get to the water.  It could also be freezing cold out with a layer of ice over the river.  I spent a lot of my free time there.

So at the bridge, I crawled over the guard rail and walked down the rocky slope so I could put my feet into the water.  As I placed my feet into the water, I could not believe how icy cold it was.  It felt good though to feel the currents washing over my feet, hearing the waves rush over the rocks and see the ripples of the water flowing into different directions.

As I sat there looking upstream, I realized that the river is a metaphor and map of our life.  What would our life look like if we were to draw a river on a piece of paper and map out our life.  It could be a river of life map that highlights the bends in the river of hardships, trauma, heartache, burdens and loss.  There may be some straight of ways representing happiness, peace, joy, birth of a child, and life achievements.  Along the banks of the river we may have manmade debris, circumstances beyond our control and sin.  There could also be natural debris of large branches, sticks, dried grass and moss that is just a part of life because we live in this fallen world. I remember that upstream, I had been rededicated and baptized in this river in September 2009 realizing that all of that debris had already been washed away and was now in the past.  I have not forgotten though how all of these events on my river of life has shaped me and gotten me to where I am at today.  God uses all of the events in our life for His glory if we allow Him too. 

One thing for sure, we need water to survive physically, but also living water from the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ that is spiritual living water.  I realized this evening that I was thirsty, thirsty to be spiritually filled that only Christ's living water can give.  Every living thing has to come to the water to survive.  I was witnessing the birds that were swooping and playing in the water.  Then I saw at a distance a head bobbing out of the water coming toward me.  It was a water snake and I jumped back pulling my feet out of the water.  I am so scared of snakes so I began to splash water to direct the snake in a new direction.  It worked!  The snake went on a little further down the river and I saw it slither up onto some rocks maybe to rest.

We too are like that snake in the middle of the river of life going along with currents that we have been given or by the poor, foolish decisions that we have made.  However, we are never alone.  Christ's living water is all around us if we choose to recognize Him and not become numb like my feet did sitting in the icy cold water.  Just as the snake rested in the middle of the river, we too can find rest with Christ in the middle of the river no matter how high the waters get, how rough the currents may become, how low the water may be, or even during the peaceful flow.  In all circumstances and situations we must recognize our need and come to Christ for his living water to fill us.

As I was reflecting on this, a couple from my church walked by and saw me.  We said hi to each other as they passed by.  She looked back at me and said that they no longer see people coming and sitting in the river anymore.  That hit me as a profound statement that we all too often look in other places to be filled with worldly and impermanent distractions.  The only thing that can truly fill our emptiness is Christ's living water.

As I sat there and realized what I just evolved, I was already personally feeling at peace and didn't notice my emotional heartache.  I need to make a point to come to Christ's living water each and everyday to fill me and let His water wash over me purifying me of worldly influences that I am faced with everyday.

As I got up to leave, a song that I love came to me by Rhett Walker called Come to the River.  I need to do this everyday by coming to the river and laying my burdens down and let my heart be filled by Christ.  I have attached a link to the song.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_994734&feature=iv&src_vid=_11qNSYloq4&v=pjIxuuBSzMI  I also reminded of the scripture John 4:14 of the woman at the well where God said, "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.”

Finally, as I was sitting outside my house writing about this experience, God was showering me with light raindrops of His living water.  He is present all around me if I would choose not to be numb or indifferent to His presence.  The birds were chirping, the whippoorwill was croning, our sheep were bahhing, the cattle were grazing and His Spirit could be heard through the rustling of the leaves and felt by the gentle breeze.  Thank you God for helping me to recognize that you are all that I need to be filled, joyful and at peace.   Amen!