He (Jesus) cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way…” John 7:37-38. MSG

Water…the most vital source of sustenance for any living thing. We can’t live without it. Our bodies are about sixty percent water that must be replenished every day.

In early times, water was taken from rivers and streams, making those likely locations for human settlement. But what did they do when there was no supply of flowing water nearby? They dug a well, or cistern, as it was known. This large hole in the ground was hand-dug, lined with rock or handmade brick, and filled by rainwater. If the construction was substandard or the cistern old, leakage was often an issue. As rain traveled through the atmosphere, it picked up particles that may have rendered it harmful to humans and livestock. And just imagine that water sitting in a closed containment for long periods of time. Would you want to drink it?

Today, a cistern would be a large waterproof container, or even a garden water barrel. The liquid inside is still captured rainwater, but is used primarily for irrigation, because of its propensity for poor quality.

We’re blessed here in the Ozarks with hundreds of springs that draw cool, fresh water to the surface. Even still, we’d be hesitant to drink the water for fear of contaminants. So we have water treatment plants that purify well water, river water, and lake reservoirs. With all the technology available to us, there are still places in our world where people are forced to survive on water drawn from nearby rivers. This water may be muddy from storms, infiltrated with animal waste or even human waste, and yet, it is the only source they have.

There is another water source called an artesian well. These can occur when an aquifer runs close to the surface. If that underground aquifer has enough pressure to pump the water to the surface without the aid of man-made pumps, it is called a flowing artesian well. These wells, depending on their construction and maintenance as well as the local geology and demand, can continue to pump fresh water for decades.

Just as an artesian well is fed by its own internal pressure, the believer has a continuous flow of spiritual life that comes from the Holy Spirit within.

The Bible often refers to Living Water. Jesus, himself, is even likened to Living Water. This water sustains our hearts and minds, so that we are equipped to face the struggles of our lives in faith and with hope for a future filled with promise. Sadly, large portions of our world’s cultures have turned away from the Living Water and are wallowing in a dry or contaminated cistern.

For my people have done two evil things: they have abandoned me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all. Jeremiah 2:13 NLT

But hope is always there for one who chooses to believe. Do you want your life to be a dry, lifeless cistern or a fountain of Living Water?

Remember the words of Jesus to the Samaritan woman? “The water I give will become a spring of water gushing up inside that person, giving eternal life” (John 4:14).

Jesus offers, not a singular drink of water, but a perpetual artesian well! And the well isn’t a hole in your backyard, but the Holy Spirit of God in your heart.

Max Lucado, Everyday Blessings