Wellspring of the Spirit

"Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water . . . Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:10-14)

Have you every been thirsty? Well, that's a silly question! All of us have had that experience and know that desperate desire to get some liquid to end the thirst. We also know that incredible sense of relief when the thirst is quenched by a cool drink of water.

Our quest for spiritual knowledge is the same way. All men have a thirst for understanding whether or not they recognize it for what it is. Many times that thirst gets redirected into worldly pursuits for knowledge or fame or fortune. None of those things are ultimately satisfying and men wonder why they continue to thirst for something that they don't have. Deeper knowledge, increased wealth, or greater fame never seems to be enough. And so they go on and on seeking more of the same and never being satisfied. That should clue people in to something. They are not finding and consuming the thing they need to stop the thirst. They are de-spiritual-ated and desperately seeking that source of refreshment that will satisfy the longing.

This is one of the great promises of our Lord. If we come to Him, he will satisfy that thirst. When, by His grace, we are filled with His spirit, that thirst for spiritual things is eternally satisfied. No longer do we need to go searching for a means to satisfy. We can drink long and deep from the well of His spirit. That spirit becomes a wellspring inside that continuously refills and refreshes us. The wellspring of the spirit is placed in the heart and always available to us wherever we are and whatever situation we find ourselves in.

"Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God." (Psalm 84:5-7)

Here is something more - "Baca" means "weeping." Those who travel on the ways set out by God eventually end up going through valleys of weeping. But note closely what David says in this Psalm. They "make it a well." Even though we pass through trials along the way, the wellspring of the spirit that is in us pours out and turns places of sadness into a well of joy as we pass through. Then, to that, God pours out His "rain" and overflows everything around us.

This is what we are to be: a wellspring of God's spirit.

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