Whoever is thirsty should come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, just as the scriptures said, rivers of living water will flow out from within them. - John 7:38
One of the things I lose sight of in the Christian walk is the need to rely on the ever-flowing stream of God’s love. A stream that moves in and out of my soul, and the soul of every christian. Sometimes our focus simply looks at what we have at that moment, and we make the determination that I can’t give any more, there is no way I can commit to one more thing, I’m stretched too thin. We forget that even in our weakness, God is still all powerful. We forget that if it is Him who is calling us to such a task then He will provide the time, energy, resources to make it happen. That is why Jesus tells his disciples that if they would believe in him, they would have the rivers of living water flow into and out of them. It is not an idea that this living water comes from a finite reservoir and once we use up our portion that’s it, or there is a limited supply. Instead, this is the living water of God’s love that is never ending, which never runs dry, it cannot be explained or understood, it simply comes. The more we rely on that never ending stream the more we find that we do not work out of what we have been given, but out of what God has that He keeps sending our way. We simply need to just go with it, and not question whether the stream in good enough, but simply rely on God to use us in such a wonderful way.
One of the ways God uses us is to influence others with this living water, I find the words of Oswald Chambers enlightening on this aspect of influence this is what he says:
Who are the people who have influenced us most? Certainly not the ones who thought they did, but those who did not have even the slightest idea that they were influencing us. In the Christian life, godly influence is never conscious of itself. If we are conscious of our influence, it ceases to have the genuine loveliness which is characteristic of the touch of Jesus. We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring.
I hope our lives might become the inspiration others need in order to receive Jesus and let the living waters flow into them. I hope our lives reflect the love of God to others in such a way that we are instruments of God’s mercy and peace. I hope even as we are again apart, we can continue to be lifted up and filled up by the never ceasing waters of God’s love.
Grace & Peace,
Sam