Welling up

John Povey July 18, 2025 4 2

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John 4: 13-14 (NIVUK)

13 Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’

To obtain water from a well, it is necessary to lower a bucket, then haul up the full container. This needs to be repeated as often as it takes to get the required amount of water. It is hard work. It is heavy work. It is hot work. But the body needs water, and in the absence of fresh running water from a tap, a river, or a stream, there is no other way. But this water is temporary and requires effort.

People thirst for other things too. A sudden financial windfall, success and popularity, a break from the daily grind and pressures, elusive dreams. Perhaps these things do come along from time to time, but whoever drinks from them will soon be thirsty again for more. The human desert of dreams needs something more to satisfy.

How refreshing, then, to know that what Jesus offers will become a permanent spring within us, a veritable stream of living water. “Since the Lord saved me, I’m as happy as can be, my cup’s full and running over,” goes the old song of praise, inspired by the much loved 23rd Psalm.

The water Jesus promises is not something physical but spiritual, a source of abundant life that wells up from within, satisfying a deep longing. He calls to all who are thirsty to come and drink at His fountain of life. Enjoyment, like our very salvation, is something that bubbles up, that wells up within us, that is always fresh. This water is eternal and is obtained only as a gift, the gift of God who delights in us.

Prayer:

Loving Father, when I feel dry and weary, remind me of your promise of living water. Help me to draw near to you, to drink deeply from your well of living water, and so to find strength and renewal. Use me as a channel to refresh and bless others too with love and hope and enjoyment in your presence. Amen.