“But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never thirst again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.”
John 4:14
Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well confused her, as it would anyone who is not His follower. Every day she would visit this well to replenish her water. And so it is with the world—thirst of any kind will never be truly satisfied by earthly things. To quench the thirst of the human heart requires much more than the physical—it requires the Spiritual.
St. Augustine said, “O Lord, You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they rest in You.”
When we receive the blessings of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will never thirst again. However, like an overflowing fountain, His blessings are not meant for us alone but are to be poured out for others—and the evidence of that is the fruit of the Spirit in us.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…” Gal 5:22,23
When our motivation in serving others is our love for the Lord, all the other fruit will flow from it. Is it a struggle for us to be joyful, patient, and kind? Do we find ourselves battling fear rather than feeling at peace? Do we respond with gentleness and self-control when faced with a challenging person? Are we faithful to obey the Lord regardless of the cost?
“Yet some of us are like the Dead Sea, always receiving but never giving, because our relationship is not right with the Lord Jesus Christ.”— Oswald Chambers
Unless we are grounded in prayer and daily scripture reading, we may easily find our affections wandering. It’s in the small every day, seemingly inconsequential, decisions we make that can make a difference in our heart posture toward Jesus. One smile or kind word, even when we feel rushed. Making an effort to put the needs of others before our own…
You may have heard of the One-Degree Rule adapted from navigation and aviation: A tiny, seemingly insignificant shift of just one degree off your heading won’t look like much at first, but over a long distance or extended period of time, it compounds until you end up miles or hundreds of miles away from your intended destination.
The same could be said of our relationship with Jesus. If we do not closely guard our hearts, and what draws our affections, we will no longer be walking the narrow path. An apathetic attitude can easily shift into a hardened heart. To shine the Light onto a lost and dying world, we must walk in the Light.
“Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” Proverbs 4:23
King Solomon understood that whatever drives our will, desires, and emotions, will impact everything that we think, say, and do.
How do we guard our hearts? We’ve all heard the oft quoted cliché, “What would Jesus do?” It became a pop-culture reference in the 1990s, and was so overused, it became trite. However, it was first coined by Charles Spurgeon in the 19th century and popularized by Charles Sheldon’s 1896 novel In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?
Trite or not, we might consider this question for ourselves. We will never go wrong imitating the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we can so easily be distracted by the shiny things of this world. A bad day can turn into a bad week, which can turn into a bad month. And before we know it, we are no longer walking with You. Help us to seek You and Your Kingdom above all else so that we may shine the Light of Jesus to those around us.
