God uses water in the Bible to convey spiritual realities. When Jesus spoke of “rivers of living water,” He was speaking metaphorically of the Holy Spirit.
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “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.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
~John 7:37-39
The Spirit of God is spirit, not H2O. Why did Jesus choose water for the metaphor? What does it mean in everyday experience to thirst for the water of God? What in us is thirsting? How do we drink God? What faculties are we using? If our neighbor saw us drinking the water of God what would they witness us doing? Isaiah 55 provides some answers to these questions. In this week’s brief, we’ll examine how we drink the water of God.
How do we drink the spiritual water of God? According to Isaiah 55:1-3, by listening diligently, inclining our ear. “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). Attend to the preaching of the word on the Lord’s Day! Attend to reading the word day and night – this is the activity of the tree planted by streams of water in Psalm 1. Enjoy the fellowship of believers who rightly divide the word and encourage you forward in your understanding of God and His will. In short, take advantage of the means of grace God has commanded us to use.
