“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
Jeremiah 2:13
The first time I heard Jeremiah 2:13 I was listening to an exposition on Psalm 23; “A Shepherd’s look at Psalm 23” by Phillip Keller. Keller writes, ” Now, just as the physical body has a capacity and need for water, so Scripture points out clearly that the human personality, the human soul, has a capacity and need for the water of the Spirit of the eternal God.” There is without a doubt a God-shaped void in our hearts that only He can fill, and when we try to fill that void with anything else apart from God Himself, we end up in misery.
In “Finishing Well in Life and Ministry” Bill Mills talks about Solomon in reference to how life may at times seem meaningless. He compares Solomon to his father David. When God appeared to Solomon in his sleep, He said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” (1 Chr. 1:7). Solomon asked for wisdom to lead the people that God had given him. In verse 11 and 12, God affirms Solomon’s choice as a good choice and in addition to wisdom, He grants him wealth, riches and honor such as no king before or after him had. While we do not see the same offer made to David, in Psalm 27:4 we see David’s response to that question. David says, “One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.”
I think about what my response would be if God were to appear to me and make the same offer that He made to Solomon. I am sure it would be different things in different seasons. A good job in my area of interest, a healthy relationship that would eventually lead to a thriving marriage, successfully getting through school, posterity for my business, a strong circle of friends, a car, travel to England; there is a whole list of things I would ask for. I remember watching a YouTube video where the host shared how the first time he was asked what he is most excited about heaven, he talked about being stress free and all those nice things. Then the person asked him whether he was not excited about seeing Jesus and it hit him; the cares of this world had clouded his mind that God was not top of his list.
Solomon made a good choice; his heart was in the right place when he made his request for wisdom. He wanted to do right by the people that God gave him. But David made the best choice. The truth is, when we ask for less than God himself, we are asking for less than what God desires to give us. The God void in us can only be filled by drawing on God alone. Augustine of Hippo phrases it in a better way. He says, “… You have made us and drawn us to yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
I vividly recall my own restlessness not very long ago. This was preceded by weeks of not withdrawing daily to spend time with God and have Him fill my mind with His truth. I was constantly anxious and stressed over a number of things that were not working as I would have wanted. Needless to say, I was also quite edgy. I watched a series or two on Netflix all the while pushing my quiet time to a later hour. I then started watching TikTok compilations on YouTube but the restlessness kept growing. It simply wouldn’t let me be. I got so agitated that I switched off my phone and began crying and trying to pray. I eventually fell asleep but when I woke up, the heaviness was still there; this insatiable hunger for God, a deep void that could not be filled with anything else apart from God.
I consider myself a sweet tooth. I love all those awfully unhealthy things such like ice cream and chocolate and shakes. I have noticed that every time I have any of these sweet things before a meal, I tend to feed very poorly, or not eat at all. The analogy is also true of my spiritual life. Any time I feed my mind with junk food be it TV shows, YouTube videos, memes on social media etc, my capacity to consume the real food reduces. At worst, I lose my appetite for the things of God and my inner spiritual capacity for God and divine life becomes desiccated. At this point, I may end up drinking from any dirty pool or building my own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold any water in a bid to quench my thirst.
In Psalm 23, David states, “He leads me beside quiet waters.” As our shepherd, Jesus knows where the springs of living water are. When we take time out every morning to commune and quietly wait on God, He equips us in such a manner as we are able to deal with the complexities of life. The overwhelming thing does not overwhelm us anymore because we have an enlarged view of God and we have interacted with His word long enough to have full assurance that He has a track record of winning, He won’t start losing battles with us. We can be confident that in the grand scheme of things, everything will work out for good.
Beloved, Christ comes quietly to you as He does to me inviting us to come to Him. He asks us to put our confidence in Him since He alone knows how best we can be satisfied. Wisdom will not do, Solomon is a perfect example of this as depicted by his cynicism when writing Ecclesiastes. Sexual adventures will not do, drugs fall short, male attention for young girls does not satisfy, a thriving career is severely inadequate to quench our thirst for God. No substitute will suffice; only The Triune God will quench the thirsting soul.
Beloved, come as you are. Like John the Baptist, may our desire be that He increases even as we decrease. When we give our lives to Him and allow Him to take the wheel, He brings about meaning and significance to various events in our lives. We soon realise that we are objects of His affection and that He delights in us; we stop looking for affirmation elsewhere. We are instead freed to drink from the springs of living water and to find satisfaction in what He has given us to do.
Come, drink from the springs of living water!
Love and Light
Quintessence.
