Drinking in the Holy Spirit

 

Drinking In the Holy Spirit

Red-Letter Words of Jesus

Day 44

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 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.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” John 4:13-14 (NKJV)

In Jesus’ day, people in Samaria understood thirst. The terrain was barren and the climate hot and dry. Wells and cisterns were vital to the survival of humans and animals alike. Those who lived in the region could relate to “as the deer pants for the water brooks” mentioned in Psalm 42:1. They probably experienced the deep ache of parched mouths and swollen tongues.

Not even in her wildest dreams could the Samaritan woman imagine a fountain of fresh water springing up in her arid surroundings. No wonder the Samaritan woman desired this everlasting water to quench her craving once and for all.

Of course, Jesus didn’t refer to water which she could drink from and never thirst again. This was a metaphor with a deeper meaning. He wanted to her understand the second part of Psalm 42:1 which states, “So pants my soul for You, O God.”

Jesus wanted her to see her dry and thirsty spirit longing for God. He offered her the only means of true satisfaction for her deepest yearnings. Jesus offered her the living water of the Holy Spirit, a gift that could continually refresh her soul.

All those things she desperately longed for…unconditional love, acceptance, forgiveness, mercy, kindness…were hers if she received the Holy Spirit into her life and allowed Him to transform her. He was a fountain she could draw from on an ongoing basis.

Perhaps you’ve seen cartoons on television where a character is lost in the desert. With the sun burning hot, he crawls on his knees across the television screen with sweat pouring off his head and his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Spiritually, that’s what I look like when I don’t spend time drinking from the fountain of living water the Holy Spirit freely offers me.

Father, thank You for showing me (and the Samaritan woman) that the only way to quench my spiritual thirst is with an ongoing drink fest with the Holy Spirit. It’s through Your Spirit that my spirit can be satisfied. When I pant for you, please quench the longing in my soul. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

https://biblehub/commentaries/barnes/John/4.htm

https://biblehub/commentaries//gill/John/4.htm

https://biblehub/commentaries/ellicott/John/4.htm

https://biblehub.commentaries/pulpit/John/4.htm