Jeremiah 2:13 (NLT) says, “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cistern that can hold no water at all!”
In this passage God points out two evils that had been done by the people. The first thing was: they forsook Him. In other words, they walked out; they turned their backs on Him. The second was: they dug cisterns (containers) for themselves that were broken and could not hold water. (These cisterns were gods that they took for themselves that were useless and empty.) The people went from a spring of living water to the worship of dead idols. They built for themselves religious systems to store truth but those systems were worthless.
Today we see that very same thing happening in the Body of Christ. Why do we cling to the world’s broken promises and unstable cisterns of money, power, religious empires, or whatever fleeting thing we are clinging to in place of God, when God promises to constantly refresh us with Himself? God alone is the provider of life-giving waters. He referred to Himself as the “fountain of living waters.” That means that God pictures Himself as a spring of clean, cool and pure life-giving water. And the way we glorify a fountain like this is to enjoy that water; to praise His water; to keep coming back for more of His water; to point others to His water, and to never, ever prefer any other water over His fountain of living water. That‘s how we give value to His spring, and that’s how we glorify the living God. He is our fountain of living water!
The people in Jeremiah’s day tasted the fountain of God but didn’t like it, so they gave their energies to finding a better and more satisfying water. And God called this effort futile and evil. These people put God’s perfection to their tongue and souls and disliked what they tasted, and then turned and craved the wicked cisterns of the world. That’s not only an insult to God; it is the essence of what evil is!
Preferring the pleasures of material things like money, power, fame or sex over the pleasures at God’s right hand is a great evil. Psalm 16:11 says, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” One of the greatest evils is when we esteem everything else above God. Preferring anything above Him is the very essence of sin, and it must be fought. Not seeing or taking pleasure in our God above everything else is an insult to the beauty and worth of His character. There is nothing in this world that can compare to Him!
We need to do everything that we can to get in the river of God’s flow. John 7:38 AMP says, “He who believes in me, who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on me, regardless of what happens, as the scripture has said, from his innermost being shall flow continuously springs and rivers of living water”
When you get in the river – all the way in with Him; you will see a tangible change in your life; and that change will also cause the people around you to change. There are people that are in need of God, and their only opportunity of knowing Him may be through you! But that will only happen when you jump into the river of God’s living water. You have to be willing to go all the way with God.
Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” He is waiting for you to get to the place where you are thirsty to see His glory. When that happens, you will see His glory and power, and you will be filled! Stop living from the fountain the world is supplying you, and start drinking and feeding your spirit with the Word of God! Now more than ever we need to seek God, we need to thirst and hunger after righteousness so that we may be filled with all of God!
God is looking to show Himself strong on His children’s behalf, but He can’t do that if His children are not pursuing Him, if they’re not drawing near to Him. If you want increase in your life you’re going to have to draw near to God so that He will draw near to you.
In John 4:14 Jesus says, “But those who drink the water that I will give them will never become thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give them will become in them a spring that gushes up to eternal life.”
If we want the rivers of living waters to continue to flow through us, we must cleave, trust and rely on Jesus continuously. We have to allow the Holy Spirit to keep flowing through us. We must continually draw from the fountain of God’s living water. Living our life apart from God will only leave us to draw from the broken cisterns of this world that are unable to give us life.
Who and what are you seeking after these days? What is dominating your heart and thoughts? Are you seeking after great things for yourself? Are you filling your heart with the desires of your flesh?
Check your spiritual foundation today and make sure there are no cracks in it. Check to see if God’s truth is not escaping from you. And make sure that you are not being enticed or entangled with the things of this world and forsaking God.
Submitted by: Pastor Carmen Acosta
