Living Water v. The World’s Water
When you read, John 4:13-14, notice Jesus doesn’t say “But those who HAVE the water I give, will NEVER be thirsty again”,
he says, “Those who DRINK the water, will NEVER be thirsty again”.
To drink is an action.
One must decide to drink.
I can physically have water, but not drink it.
I think there’s even a saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.,”
The Woman at the Well
The background to this story is that Jesus sought out a woman that everyone else wanted to avoid. Jesus intentionally showed up at the well, to meet the Samaritan woman who was lonely, isolated and a social outcast.
Jesus as her protective shepherd, was seeking after HER, his lost sheep. Jesus was so kind to her. He answered all her questions and didn’t let her skepticism deter him. He saw her heart and said to her,
“If you only knew the GIFT God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me and I would give you living water.”
Eventually she realizes WHO she’s talking to and how amazing this gift He’s offering her truly is, which transformed her heart.
With her transformation, the Samaritan woman did not just passively ACCEPT and HAVE Jesus in her life. She admitted her sin and need for Him and then DRANK the Living water he gave.
There’s a difference between HAVING and DRINKING the water of life.
Unlikeliest of Places
The Samaritan woman operated on her life on her own. She was independent, capable, and kept to herself. She could have thanked Jesus for saving her from her sins and gone home to sort out the multiple-husband situation and live a good, simple and honoring Christian life.
BUT instead, she chose to DRINK the water of life by going and telling the town that disliked her about Him! The town of people she avoided. Her heart transformed into a bold, Lioness who wasn’t afraid to share the news about Christ. The Living Water turned her ashamed heart, into a supernaturally courageous heart.
We know this, because if you go further into verse 39, its says this:
“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in HIM because of the woman’s testimony.”
She didn’t keep the good news to herself. She didn’t live a quiet, simple, “good” life, because when you drink from HIS living water, you focus on what God wants for you, and not your own version. God knew that she would impact the kingdom!
He challenged her to do MORE than just believe the TRUTH that He was the Messiah and HAVE him in her life, He challenged her to allow her heart to be transformed by drinking the Living water of the Spirit.
Salvation and Sanctification
As Jesus is battling it out with this very skeptical woman, Jesus declared two specific things in verse 24. “…So those who worship him must worship in SPIRIT and in TRUTH.”
Salvation is acknowledging and agreeing that Jesus wasn’t just a man, but he was also God and died on the cross for our sins so we can access God, our father for eternity.
Sanctification is a process that transforms us to be more like Jesus. It is the fresh, bubbling spring that flows out of us, that bears fruit.
What I’ve learned over the years of having a relationship with Jesus, is that:
1. My sanctification process is never-ending and messy
2. Everybody’s sanctification process looks different and
3. God is more concerned with my heart and WHO I Am than WHAT I Do.
Living a good life v. Living a life that is sanctified
Just living a “good” life where I don’t curse, don’t drink too much, spend time with my kids, love my husband well, exercise, tithe, attend church, volunteer, have my own business, save for retirement and be the go-to person when someone needs direction, is all fine, but if my heart isn’t postured towards the Lord, none of it matters.
But the world wants to tell us that all that stuff is the only thing that matters. That what we have, who we know, and how much success we experience is what gives us value. But the fact that you were created means you have value!
When Jesus talks about the living water to drink, He's talking about the deeper, heart stuff. He’s talking about how the Spirit can remind us of our value and change our heart, desires, and perspective of the world.
When we drink the living water, God is asking us to trust Him and be nourished by only Him, and be sanctified in the process.
The living water is based on what the SPIRIT does.
The water of the world wants us to find our worth in labels and status.
The living water just wants us to show up as ourselves and allow the spirit to do the rest.
The water of the world is based on what WE do.
We All Need A Reminder
Unfortunately, I find myself still drinking the water of this world, because it’s like a fire hydrant being sprayed everywhere. Being a Life Coach, I’m involved in the personal development world and it’s a very slippery slope of being ME focused instead of God-focused. But I’m called to be a light and point women back to Jesus so they remember WHO’s they are!
But thankfully, just like the woman at the well, my gentle shepherd seeks me out and reminds me to drink His living water, so I can shift my perspective from what I can do, to what God can do.
When I embrace the living water, I’ve found my heart become more like Christ’s and have way more fruit in my life. The living water nourishes me so I have more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control pouring out of me.
This process of choosing to drink the living water requires a delicate balance of cooperation and surrender. I have to allow the Holy Spirit to work by releasing my own expectations and then moving when he says to move.
If you’re anything like me, you will not consistently choose the water of life, because you’re human! Through salvation we get the Holy Spirit, but we don’t always access the transforming power. It’s kind of like our body being 60% water, but still needing to drink water to live and thrive.
God would like our cooperation to fully experience the sanctification process of our heart! He wants us to choose HIM, the water of life!
So, what distracts us from choosing to drink the living water and cooperate in the Sanctification process?
He Does Everything with Intention
As women, we have a variety of distractions that come up in life that we prioritize over cooperating with the Sanctification process.
I don’t think it was an accident that this story was recorded of Jesus having this discussion with a woman.
He does everything with intention.
He chose a woman to give this message to.
The overall concept applies to men too, but He chose a woman to make this point.
He knew that we, as women would have a hard time drinking the living water at times, because of our own struggles buried deep in our hearts that distract us.
Struggles of:
people pleasing, fear, pride, past failures, rejection, disappointments, shame, unforgiveness, lack of trust, apathy, and loneliness. These struggles can harden our hearts, which becomes a barrier to the living water’s sanctification process.
For example, I have this water sitting on the table. I can pick it up and drink it anytime I want to. The catch is, as I bring it closer to my lips to drink and enjoy the Living Water, I must come closer and closer to the things within my heart I’ve been struggling with.
Water and the Transformation of the Heart
To fully enjoy Christ, we must admit the struggles and be honest about what’s going on in our heart. In Proverbs 4:23, it says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Checking in on your heart is important. Everything flows from it.
For some, myself included, facing the struggles is too hard at times, so we choose to ignore what’s really going on and not drink the living water…the thing is WE NEED WATER. So, WE’RE GOING TO FIND water SOMEWHERE.
And if we’re not the LIVING Water, than it’s the World’s Water.
The World’s water seems easier. I get it, I still get regularly get caught up in focusing on myself and doing things in my own strength, verses focusing on WHO GOD IS and trusting His strength to take care of things.
When I drink the world’s water, I get to distract myself from the vulnerable stuff in my heart and just focus on WHAT I DO and not WHO I AM.
It takes courage to be transformed, because it’s scary to face the struggles and work through them. Sometimes we don’t know what we’ll find! But this verse empowers me.
God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of POWER, LOVE, and SOUNDMIND- 2 Timothy 1:7
It’s amazing when you step into a heart of courage how POWER, LOVE AND A SOUNDMIND will outflow from your life, which then makes drinking the living water contagious because of your own thriving! The living water effects more than just you to. The overflow effects those around you.
When you drink the living water, you’re loving people more, you have a joy that isn’t derailed by circumstances, you’re calm in the chaos, you can tolerate more without getting upset, you have a new level of compassion, you have Godly standards that you hold yourself to, your faith is strong and have a new level of will-power. This impacts everyone around yoU!
When you choose to drink the water of life from the source of Christ, you will understand new things about WHO God is and His plans for how he wants to transform your heart. And from what Proverbs 4:23 says about our heart being the wellspring of our Life, (another water imagery), that is most important.
For the Holy Spirit to fully operate at its highest ability, we must allow it to uncomfortably transform our heart by working through the struggles. This can feel like we’re breaking, but it’s only so you can have a breakthrough. Your breaking isn’t for you to stay broken, it’s for you to experience a true transformational breakthrough, that only the Spirit can do.
Humility and Courage
The Living Water is the free, unearned, and eternal salvation offered to us in Jesus Christ and flows through us as the Holy Spirit takes his place with us.
To oversimplify what Jesus was talking about at the well with the Samaritan woman, we must worship in Truth and Spirit. The Truth of salvation and the Spirit of sanctification allows us to fully experience the water of life.
Salvation requires humility and to accept that no matter how “good” we are we need Jesus. In Psalms 149:4, it says, “… He will beautify the humble with salvation.”
AND the Sanctification process requires courage, which in, Deuteronomy 31:6, it says,
“Don’t be afraid to face those struggles. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you”
We must have the courage to face our struggles that distract us from choosing to drink the water of life. We must cooperate with the spirit and turn our hearts from focusing on WHAT WE DO, to WHAT GOD CAN DO.
The struggles of people pleasing, fear, past failures, disappointments, shame, unforgiveness, lack of trust, apathy, and loneliness.
We must ask Christ to help us with our struggles, so we drink the living water and not turn to the world’s water.
The living water is always there to drink. You just have to choose to do it. There’s no “right way”, all you have to do is cooperate and surrender.