LIVING WATERS

The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.

I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia,
the myrtle and the olive.
I will set pines in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,

So that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Isaiah 41:17-20

The promise of refreshing springs within us guarantees only that, for now, Christ will do something about our crucial longings - the joys that

only relationship with God provides. We have no promise that He’ll provide us with the comforts of health, prosperity, or leisure, nor can we depend on God to make our human relationships as warmly satisfying as we wish. His promise of daily bread and His pledge to supply us with what we need according to His riches must be carefully understood to mean that we can count on receiving from God all that’s necessary to achieve His purpose in our life.

This kind of promise obviously does not guarantee us pain-free living on every level. On the contrary, because His intention is to draw us deeply to Himself, and because we were designed to enjoy what only God can provide, we must honestly admit to deep sadness and disappointment, sometimes reaching the level of soul-wrenching despair, as we contemplate our human relationships.

What we want simply is not there, but, as a fallen being, we naturally seek joy in every relationship except in our relationship with God. The result is inevitable frustration in our deepest parts. That frustration, properly handled, can drive us toward God.

We simply must get rid of the idea that the obedient Christian is supposed to feel good all the time. The springs of living water bathing our deepest longings with His presence now and with His promises for later do not eliminate the pain of unmet desires at other levels. We therefore should not measure the quality of our walk with the Lord by the absence of unhappy feelings.

In spite of life’s inevitable pain, it’s possible to remain intact no matter what troubles crash into our life, because nothing can rob us of God’s love - the very thing a self-aware, discerning soul wants the most. To be changed from the inside out means to learn how to drink from the living water of God’s unchanging love so our purpose, identity and joy give us the courage to respond well whether our life is smooth or rocky.

Honest people touch the inevitable distress of life, sometimes through physical suffering, always through relational disappointment.
Changed people taste the goodness of God so deeply that they pursue Him when life offers the legitimate but blander taste of nice homes, good health, and rich relationships - and they pursue Him all the more when those joys are removed.(Extracted from INSIDE OUT by Dr Larry Crabb)

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All of us are made to relate with one another and because we are people who have weaknesses, we will disappoint one another. The sense of belonging and acceptance that we crave for, the faithfulness of true friends can sometimes disappoint us when our expectations are not met. We cannot deny the pain that we feel and feeling the pain does not mean we are less spiritual. We need to admit the pain, bring it before the Lord and let His love fill us, so that we do not allow bitter roots in our hearts that stops the flow of His Spirit within us.

Our relationship with God is not dependent on whether we have all relationships working well for us, but it is a steadfast holding on to God in our pain and disappointments. Jesus is a clear example of having gone through betrayal in friendships, rejected by His closest friends at the crucial times of His life, and yet He forgave them. Many times we have rejected Him and have withdrawn from Him and He feels the pain of our withdrawal, but yet He loves us and waits for us to come back.

We know we have grown in our walk with God, when we realize that pain & suffering is part of living the life He has for us. Our unmet needs & disappointments in relationships are meant to draw us closer to Him, not further apart. For it is only in Him can we learn what it means to be fully satisfied in our thirst, how to better relate to one another and find rest and courage to face tomorrow and love the ones who will hurt us again....

-jo-