“…but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
John 4:14 (NKJV)
Every Sunday, along with countless other Christians in historic churches around the world, I sing this phrase. It’s part of the beginning of every worship service . It marks the beginning of the holy space where God has promised to come and meet with His people. God’s call is to come into His presence, to receive good things from His Table. This song points my attention to the Source of life and satisfaction.
My Father knows my frame. He knows what I need. And He knows I need repetition and unfailing mercy as I so easily forget where to look for blessings. So every Sunday, when I come into the congregation of His people, join with the other sheep of His pasture, He reminds me He is the source of living water “springing up into everlasting life.” When I come to Jesus, there is nowhere else to go.’
Woman at the Well
I need the regular reminder because I am just like the woman Jesus met at the well in John 4. Like her, Jesus has told me all the things I ever did. He’s revealed the truth of what’s behind my heart that is never satisfied or happy. The woman at the well had five husbands and was using a sixth illegitimately because she was looking to men to provide what only Jesus can. We all find ourselves born into a world insufficient to meet our needs. This poor woman had no other way to get her needs met except through things of this world. So she used men exploitatively. She is not an unusual monster in this way. Everyone born into this sin cursed world does it. We all should say, when we read her story, I too have been told everything I ever did.
When God revealed this truth to me, I was horrified and sick. The truth of what I was penetrated through my heart. It took me months to return to the joy of the story. However, the truth of who Jesus is displaced the grief of my situation.
God is Love
He is love. He so loved ME that He set aside His glory so He could add me to His people, washing me clean and providing for every need. Ephesians teaches that the same power of the Godhead that raised Christ from the dead is working salvation for His people. And is rich in mercy toward us because of His great love with which He loves us. The more one lays hold of the power and love that is in the service of his care, the more one can release all the energy going into using the people and things of the creation to get ones needs met.
God is about the work of removing all that keeps me from closeness with Him.
We Fall Short
My emotions have become important pointers to the hidden places in my heart where I still look to creation for salvation and blessings. What or who makes me angry? What sends my thoughts into depression? I do believe God is my source of blessings, but I am still so far from believing it in everything. I’ll still misuse God’s creation and experience the anger inducing frustration of its insufficiency until God delivers me perfect on the other side of death.
And until then, He is about the work of removing all that keeps me from closeness with Him because He would have nothing keeping me from knowing His love. Is this how I begin to understand how to give thanks for everything, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus? Everything, the hard and the easy, is working to remove what keeps me from the Source of all blessings.
The Source of All Blessings
By God’s grace, I’ve not had five husbands like the woman at the well, but I’ve placed people and things under burdens they cannot bear because they can never be my source of blessings. God is clear. All blessings flow from Him. If God’s word is true, then nothing can separate me from the love of Christ and all His benefits (Romans 8:35-39). No good thing will He withhold from me (Psalm 84:11).
Kindly and with such longsuffering my Savior calls me back to receive blessings from His hand. And when my blessings flow from God, the energy flips. My husband becomes a blessing, not a source to be exploited. My children become blessings to rejoice and delight in, not props for my pride and ego. My fellow believers can be enjoyed and loved with all of who they are—received right where they are in God’s process of transforming them into the image of Christ.
God is Good
In Hebrews 11, placed in the list of the faithful, is this wonderful statement: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Romans 11:6) God calls His saints to come out of the community of unbelievers, and He promises to be with them wherever they go.
God has not only given forgiveness of sins and everlasting righteousness through Jesus to the saints who’ve gone before, but He’s promised that to me, too. As I diligently seek Him, trusting that He is good and keeps His promises, He will bless me and keep me wherever I go, even if it gets as messy as Jacob’s life, or David’s or Moses’.
Joining the great cloud of witnesses listed in Hebrews 11 is to become one who believes that God is the One from whom all blessings flow. God is good and abundant, and He will reward those who diligently seek Him. Diligence in seeking doesn’t mean getting it right all the time, a misconception I am prone to believe. Rather, it’s clinging to Jesus in whatever circumstance I find myself in, whether it’s the prison of Joseph, the lonely river bank of Jacob, or the overwhelming duties of a wife and mother.
Life Application
Begin observing yourself. As you watch your own actions, remember to see yourself as God sees you, a beloved child in whom He is well pleased. Remember that as a father pities His child, so the Lord pities those who fear Him (Psalm 103:13.) And there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Where are you looking for blessings apart from Christ? Ask God to reveal the hidden places of your heart.
Recommended Resource
Understanding better the nature of the One who loves me so well rests my heart in not only His willingness to do all He’s promised on my behalf, but also in His ability to do so. I recommend the classic The Attributes Of God by A.W. Pink as a good resource for this.
