Living Water, Endless Satisfaction For The Thirsty Soul – John 7:37
Come To Me And Drink Living Water
(Video and Audio available at the bottom of the page)
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying,
"If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me,
as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
John 7:37-38
I love that Jesus called to the thirsty, on the last day of the feast. Don’t miss the irony that His call came after extravagant and abundant eating and drinking. Physically they were filled and full. But Jesus offered them something more. Something spiritual and something eternal.
This feasting so correlates to our feasts, celebrations, and parties from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Our Thanksgiving celebration at my house surely parallels the “great day of the feast.” You can’t see the countertop in my kitchen, only dishes filled with delicious food. Then the moment the Thanksgiving feast is cleaned up and leftovers put away, Christmas decorating and celebrating begins and doesn’t end until December 26.
By the time the new year rolls in, I am beyond 100% ready for a change. All I can think about is cleansing the rich feasting out of my body. I literally feel the need to detox so that I can feel normal and get back to normal eating. All the food and festivities are fun and I love it all, but at the end, I realize my body needs a cleansing, a reset.
I wonder if Jesus wasn’t addressing the same thing from a spiritual stance. Feasting or an abundance of anything in this world, will always bring us back to the place where we sense and know that there is still something more. We crave something unattainable from any physical delight or pleasure. A once and for all sort of something.
The Gift
This story of Jesus offering rivers of living water to the thirsty ones willing to come to Him reminds me of a woman He encountered in John 4. Jesus met her by a well. This thirsty woman probably daily visited the well to quench her physical thirst. Take a moment to let the significance of this encounter settle in. At this physical well, Jesus, the fountain of living water came to a thirsty woman to offer her something more, something spiritual, and something eternal. A gift.
Jesus answered and said to her,
"If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,'
you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."
John 4:10
Jesus knew the dissatisfaction this woman experienced in her life from the promises of men. Her pursuit of physical satisfaction only left her longing for more. In fact, I believe she knew deep down there was something available to her that she had not yet experienced. Everything about her story shouts of her desperate desire and search for more. Jesus used her repetitive need for a physical drink to contrast His offer of living water that would be her endless satisfaction.
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
John explained how to define living water in John 7:39, saying that Jesus, “spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
Endless Satisfaction of Living Water
The gift of the Holy Spirit is the endless satisfaction of the living water Jesus offered to the thirsty souls who came to Him. This living water leads to the absolute fullness of living life.
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of your house,
and You give them drink from the river of your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life; In your light we see.
Psalm 36:8-9
Look with me a moment at the meaning of the term living, or zao in the Greek language.
Zao is a verb that speaks of:
the absolute fullness of life
enjoying real life
living true life worthy of the name
The absolute fullness of life goes above and beyond breathing and existing. This abundant life feels, senses, and experiences a deep satisfaction, reward, and surety of the significance of life only found in Jesus and His Holy Spirit in us.
Enjoying real life. I love that the definition doesn’t say enjoying life, but enjoying real life. Think about real life. It has ups and downs, things to celebrate and things to mourn, and successes and failures. In the midst of the good and bad of life, we see that life with the Holy Spirit enables us to enjoy life in all its reality.
Living true life, worthy of the name. We, as believers in Jesus, contain within us the capacity and ability to live life worthy of the name above every other name, Jesus. And that is living true life.
The final point of the definition of Zao referred to living water as “having vital power in itself and exerting the same upon the soul.”
Let’s pull all this together.
First, remember that the living water is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has vital power in itself and exerts that same power upon our soul. That power exerted on our soul empowers us to have the absolute fullness of life, to enjoy real life, and to live true life worthy of Jesus’ name.
The gift of God is the richest reward. When Jesus offered His gift, notice that He didn’t just promise to fill us, but offered everlasting rivers of living water. This river that never runs dry and always satisfies is found in Jesus.
Are you thirsty? Have you found that the abundance of this world still leaves you wanting, desiring something more? Jesus’ calls to you, “Come!
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;
Isaiah 55:1
Dear Sister in Christ, we all have seasons when we feel like the psalmist when he declared,
As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
Psalm 42:1-2a
The reality that we all experience seasons where we feel dry, doesn’t change the fact that the river of Jesus’ love remains available for thirsty souls to drink from.
I encourage you to turn your eyes away from the things of this world and look to Jesus, the fountain of living water. Maybe you need to detox and replenish. There is no better time than at the onset of a new year to cleanse the old junk and toxic waste from our bodies both physically and spiritually.
Try Out My Physical And Spiritual Detox:
Detox Your Physical Body
Daily drink infused water. I personally drink an average of 64oz each day. There are so many recipes for infused water that help cleanse and detoxify our bodies. My personal favorite infused water is with cucumbers, lemons, and strawberries.
Detox Yourself Spiritually
Use this free resource, my 21 Day Spiritual Detox & Replenish to help you cleanse the toxins of this world from your heart and mind and reset your relationship with Christ.
Much Love and Blessings!
