Jeremiah 2:13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken Me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” (NIV)
It is a natural response to ask why when you are experiencing a difficult time. Difficult times, as well as good times, always gives you an opportunity to choose God, yourself, or the world. This Scripture gives two great areas to look for the source of the problems you might be experiencing: 1) Have I forsaken God in any area of my life? The root of most problems you face is your relationship with God. Do you trust God enough with not just your life, but also the details of your life? A failure to trust God begins with the details of your life which ultimately determine your walk of faith. Christians often say they trust God, but often fail to trust Him completely when it comes to the details of their lives. If you want to partake of the spring of Living Water, you must be one who constantly entrusts all the details of your life to the Living Water, Jesus. 2) Have I developed self-sufficient things in my life that are my work and not God’s? Psalm 20:7 describes it like this, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” (NIV) When you build something without God, it is like a broken cistern. A broken cistern will never hold what is placed in it. It may look good on the outside, but the cracks and breaks will drain life and fruitfulness from it. A wrong motive, an impure purpose, or immoral methods will all taint the fruit that God desires you to have. In everything you do, you must enjoin God as the Source and Author of what you endeavor to do.
As a follower of Christ, you may mean well. But in reality is God leading your life and is the fruit of your life coming from God? As you live life faithfully by placing God first and allowing Him to be the Author of your life, you will see an increased consistency in not only experiencing God, but also feeling His presence. In John 4:14 you are challenged that “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (NIV) Live all of your life un-abandoned for Jesus, so that you experience the springs of eternal life that Jesus promises.
Psalm 147:10-11 “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.” (NIV)
Do you know someone who needs this message on what is blocking God’s work in their life? If so, forward this devotion to them as a blessing for their growth in Christ.
Here are some Bible studies from Growing in Christ to help your transformative experience: “Hard Times” and “Transformation.”