"On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me." John 7.37
Jesus was in Jerusalem for what was known as the festival of Booths or Sukkot. Part of this festival involved the high priest coming down to the spring of Siloam and he would fill a golden pitcher and then pour it out as a reminder of God's providing for the people--in their day, and in the exodus from Egypt.
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| Pool of Siloam, taken from my last trip to the Holy Land with Linda H and Marlene F. |
Imagine in the middle of this, Jesus standing up and shouting: Let anyone who is thirsty come to me." It is not water that Jesus was offering, but the gift of the Holy Spirit. A gift that like water gives life and satisfies our deepest needs. Just as we can become thirsty and need to replenish ourselves with water, so our spirit can become dry and lifeless. We to need to be replenished for the spiritual journey ahead, and Jesus promises to satisfy our spiritual needs through the giving of the Holy Spirit.
And you have this Holy Spirit within you! No, you say! Yes! Scripture promises that you can not say "Jesus is Lord" without the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12.3). Take time today to pray for the Holy Spirit to rejuvenate and satisfy your spiritual thirst. And be confident that this gift is already in you--ready to flow from your heart like a fountain. Why not even visualize this happening. Close your eyes, see your spirit-filled heart and now visualize a valve being opened that releases the Spirit to flow throughout your body and into the world. Breath deep and drink of the Spirit.
A prayer for today: Dear Lord, may the Holy Spirit flow from our hearts and quench our thirst, and may our heart, body and mind be moved to praise you for the life giving water that you bring. Amen."
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