A Word for Today | John 7:37-39
During the water pouring ritual of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood before the people and cried aloud: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (Jn. 7:37-38). The apostle John explains His meaning: “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive” (Jn. 7:39). Notice that Jesus speaks in the plural – “rivers” of living water – offering an abundance of blessings to meet our every spiritual need.
Through the gift of His Spirit, Jesus offers peace for the soul. What peace it is to know that your sins are all forgiven, that the debt of your guilt has been paid once for all! What peace there is in knowing Jesus’ shepherding care! When the disciples’ boat was beset by the storm, Jesus commanded the winds and the waves, “Peace, be still!” (Mk. 4:39). He gives peace to our hearts when we call on him in prayer.
Jesus also gives purity to those who drink from him. Especially as we have been cooped up with ourselves during the coronavirus pandemic, how wearied we are with the corruption of our sinful nature! We are beset with ungodly thoughts, some of us may have occasionally sinned with our lips, and the truth is that our hearts are corrupted and depraved. But Jesus causes a river to flow within us to cleanse our minds and hearts with the holiness of his Spirit.
Finally, Jesus’ gift of the Spirit brings power to endure under trials. This is the help we need during times of trial like ours. Charles Spurgeon writes, “Find thy strength to stand, and thine ability to endure, in him alone. If any man thirst for anything that is really desirable, let him come to Jesus, in whom all right desires are provided for. All for sinners and all for saints will be found in Jesus our Lord, who is all in all.”[1] If you find yourself growing weary in faith during these long weeks of social distancing, then pray in Christ’s name for the help of the Holy Spirit. After all, Jesus is the One who offers: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Phillips
[1] Charles H. Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 63 vols. (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim Publications, 1973), 31::680.