Sustaining Water

If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. John 4: 10 (NIV)

Okay, I am going to take some time away from family to share one of the most incredible evenings in my study of God's word. Our Esther group at church is involved in a Beth Moore study entitled Breaking Free . This study has been a very enlightening study as far as having us search within ourselves to find and examine those aspects in our lives that keep us from having a life sustaining relationship with God. The study for the night was based on John 4: 1-42 better known as the story of The Woman at the Well. It is the familiar story of Jesus' encounter with a woman of ill repute who had been married five times and who was living with a sixth man. The story ends with her declaring Jesus to be the Messiah in words of which she may not have realized were significant.

Although not new but needed repeated, three points were etched into my brain, more importantly my heart. As with the woman at the well, we have sins that we hide and that have brought us shame, and because of the guilt they bring, there is an abyss (Moore's term) that keeps us from God. It is into this separation that Satan inserts himself and begins to work to destroy our relationship with God. We need to remember God already knows the sin and is more than willing to forgive us if we only ask.

Also the woman told the people of the town, "He told me everything I ever did" 4:39 (NIV). On the surface these words appear to be a statement from the woman as to what Jesus had told her about her sinful self. Yet, in her words she was admitting openly she was sinful and Jesus knew it. Amazingly, these words tell us that Christ confronts our sin, all the while allowing us to keep our dignity. Consequently, if the guilt we feel over our sin continues to separate from God, it is our unbelief that separates us, not the judgement of God. He has forgiven us; we need to forgive ourselves.

Finally, in light of the scripture above, there is a word that continually keeps us from experiencing all God has in store for us, IF. How many times have we said, "IF"-- "If I had more time", "If I had more money ", "If I had gotten up earlier", etc. Jesus told the woman if she had only known the gift of God and to whom she was talking she would not have hesitated to give him a drink and she would have known he could have given her more that just a drink of water; he could have given her living water. Unlike the woman, thankfully, I know the gift of God and I know who it is who asks of me on a daily basis. Now, I need only remember He continually offers me living water, the only water that can sustain me.

Each night after we have watched the lesson video, we sit in silence and marvel at the profound wisdom Beth Moore offers. It is my prayer that you are experiencing God's sustaining water.

As I said when I started this blog, my life is fairly routine. I don't even have a picture to offer this time. I do have two events to look forward to and hope to share with you soon: a Lalis get together the end of February and a trip to Italy over Spring Break. Then as the Spirit moves, I will share God's amazing love as revealed through the Beth Moore study and Explorers' Bible Study. Oh, did I mention that we listen to Dr. David Jeremiah in Sunday School?

Well, before making this post, I checked Laura's blog to see if there was anything new in her life these last couple of days that she had not told be about on the phone. It looks like we are in the same place of being struck by God's awesome love. Like mother, like daughter. DK