I was walking on the bayou this morning with my Granny-Pup and the higher the sun rose, the more she wanted to take a dip in the murky water to cool off. (Working up a good sweat myself, I admit I was a bit jealous! But the thought of snakes kept me on the dry land:) Being off her leash for the run, she has the freedom to jump in and take a dip as she pleases...however, with the freshly mowed grass around the edges of the bayou, God caused my attention to the depth of the stream. The closer we walked to the source of the flow, the deeper the water went.
Of course, this makes sense. Have you ever jumped off a waterfall? Everyone knows that the deepest part of the waterfall is where the water pours down. The further down the stream or river you go, the shallower it gets. So, if you are going to jump, you want the deepest part, which is the closest to the source, aaaaaaaand...you want to make sure there are no underground boulders should you go for a pencil drop:) LOL!!!!!
I happened to be listening to the Book of John on my audio Bible app and just as God was turning my attention to this seemingly "random" thought about the bayou water, my app read to me these words, "The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock."Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
At first I wasn't tuned in, as my thoughts were thinking about the deep water and not wanting my Granny-Pup to run and jump in, and slowly the Scriptures began to cut thru my thinkings..."the well is deep..The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up."
I stood there staring at the culvert where the source of my bayou began, processing these seemingly random thoughts and then like a flower that opens it's petals, God showed me about these deep waters. I felt the pull in my spirit to turn and look down the bayou where I had just been and I noticed all the trash piled up, the trashed that got trapped up along the edges and the algae laced water due to stagnant waters. But here, back at the beginning, at the source, it was fluid, flowing, powerful and purer, and here I stood at "the deep end."This connected in me, the message Pastor Nathan preached to us yesterday in service...it's about the depth, not the breadth. As we walk with the Lord, the closer we get to Him (The Source), the deeper our waters get. The waters are purer, fresh, clean and abundant. However, if we walk away from The Source, the further down the river we go, we will find trash, shallow waters, stagnant growth causing impure waters.
So, how do we find the deeper waters? How do we stay there and not float downstream? It is about drawing water from The Source of Life: The Lord, being satisfied in Him alone. His Word is the Well of Life. His well is pure and deep. Once you have taken a drink from the pure water, you won't be easily satisfied by filthy, stagnant waters any longer. But if you choose to turn away from the deeper waters and journey downstream (aka: stop reading The Word of God and stop seeking Him), there will be temptations out of desperation, to take self-satisfying, quick dips in the murky waters as you seek refreshment from the heat. Carelessly, you willing exchange the pure (eternal) water for a temporary fix, only to find that you become sick amongst the filthy waters. Left unsatisfied and desperate for a sip of cool, fresh water, you will gather strength to pull yourself out of the filth and look once again for the Source and return upstream where the Living Water flows and drink from the pure waters (aka: get back into The Word, seek forgiveness and fellowship with Him). We stay in the deep waters when we desire life. We immerse ourselves in The Word of God and see with His discerning eyes, the waters that are pure and satisfying. I have also found that when I have accountability in a "walking buddy" I keep moving forward. I am less likely to make excuses, get off track, jump into murky waters. If our common goal is to head upstream, it's very likely we will get there together, where the waters are gathered together (Genesis 1:9) and welling up at The Source (John 1:1-2)!!
"...let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Hebrews 10:22-25 Father God, Your well is deep. Father God, we know that You are The Source of Pure Living Water to us, if we would just come and draw from You. Quench our thirst. Holy Spirit, lead us to Your springs of water that are welling up to give us eternal life in You! God, here in the depths of the waters of Your well, we are satisfied and made clean. Forgive us Father when we choose to satisfy our selfish desire for a dip into the shallow, murky waters amongst the trash. If we could see how filthy the water really was, we would wait to get to the depths where it is pure, safe and clean. Give us Your eyes Lord. May You as our Source cause in us a deeper place cut out from Your Living Water. Give us depth where fresh water flows and helps us to be aware when we began to move downstream. God keep us at The Source of you were there is no trash, but pure clean waters. In Your Pure Name, Jesus our Source of Life, we drink, amen.
They say the depth is as great as the height above the water....interesting thought, especially when you think about How Great is Our God!!!!! Here is the Most Powerful Waterfall I have ever seen, Niagara Falls:
