"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! He who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, 'From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.'" John 7:37-38
This scripture is one of many great and precious promises made to us by Jesus. The good news is that if Jesus has said it, that means we can have it! So, how do we do keep flowing by the Spirit of God and stay in the flow of this living water? Well, let’s start by looking at how Jesus instructed us to do this.
First things first, Jesus and His Word are one and the same. John 1:1-3 states,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
Next, let’s replace the word “Me” in the scripture we are looking at with “The Word” to illustrate the interchangeability of God and His Word.
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to The Word and drink! He who believes in My Word [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on My Word], as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.'”
Praise God! This means that The Word is the reliable source that we can go to first, when we are in need. Jesus gives us three ways to receive the continuous flow of the Holy Spirit. This scripture states that we are to adhere to Him, trust in Him and rely on Him, which is The Word. This is where the faith begins – where the will (The Word) of God is known!
1. Adhere
Adhere: STICK, COHERE, CLING, CLEAVE mean to become closely attached.
When we know what The Word says about our lives, we are in a position to speak what God says over every situation. Ephesians 6:17 describes The Word as the sword of the Spirit. We use the sword by believing and speaking God’s Word. Jesus did exactly the same thing – He responded to the devil with It Is Written! The Word is a weapon and a resource. The Word is Spirit, and it is life! Jesus stuck to the Word and did not come away from it. As a result, the devil had to flee!
When we became born again, we became attached to Jesus. From that point onwards we can speak and respond exactly as He did, using his examples and having the prompt of the Holy Spirit on the inside of us. A practical way to adhere is by meditating on the Word day and night. As we read in Joshua 1:8,
“This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.”
2. Trust
Trust: assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something
It is very difficult to trust someone you have just met. Why? because you don’t know anything about them, who they are or what they are capable of. Throughout the Bible we see where some of the mighty promises of God came to pass because the people of God trusted him. God encourages us to trust in him at all times.
Proverbs 3:5-6 states, Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths
When we spend time in God’s Word, we are filling our hearts with Jesus and his character is revealed to us. He can speak to us and direct us onto the right path. This is also how we can distinguish the truth from a lie. We know from Numbers 23:19 that “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it? This one truth can alter how you approach reading the Word and laying hold of the promises of God for yourself. We trust God because we are fully convinced by the Holy Spirit who witnesses to us as The Spirit if Truth (John15:26) Praise God! We can rely on God because His character is Truth.
3. Rely
Rely: to have confidence based on experience.
When we rely on God we are saying that we are not the source of the River of Living water, He Is! This experience of knowing who God is comes from meditating on the Word and understanding that Jesus not only made a way for us to be victorious in this life but that we can only do this as a result of our salvation. We are always connected to Him through our salvation.
David relied on God because he had a relationship with him. He confidently declared, “The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:37) David had so much confidence in God’s ability to rescue him that he just ran at that Philistine giant, in full reliance that He had already won the battle! David had on God; we can have the same response. We can run at any situation saying what God’s Word says about the situation and believing that the battle is already won.
When sickness tries to attack our bodies, we can adhere to what the Word says and declare, “By His stripes I am healed”.
When lack rears its ugly head, we can confidently trust in The Word and declare, “My cup runs over.. My God shall supply all my need according to His riches in Glory!”
When trouble, sorrow or grief tries to come against us we can rely on what The Word says and confess, “surely He has borne my sorrow and taken my grief…and … no weapon formed against me shall prosper”.
Finally, Jesus states in Mark 11:25-26
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Remember, for a river to flow it must be unblocked and unhindered. Jesus settles this here by telling us to forgive. Unforgiveness is like a like a boulder that has been placed in the flow of your blessing river – It will hinder and stop the flow! When we forgive others and purpose to walk in Love we are staying in the flow. We have to go to the source of the river to stay connected to the river! God the Father, God the Son and the God the Holy Spirit are the source and the river. This is why Jesus calls this the living water.
Praise God! we have the solution and are those who adhere, trust and rely on Jesus so that we experience a continuous flow of the Spirit. Let’s purpose to stay in the flow and allow The Rivers of Living water to flow out of us. This continuous river will not just bless you but be a blessing to everyone around you!
Memory Verses
Here is the key geographical fact about how rivers flow – from the mountains to the sea; from the source to the mouth. Praise God, you can be the ‘mouth’ of the river today by declaring the following,
- I adhere to the Word by meditating in it day and night – I have good success! Joshua 1:8
- I trust in the Lord at all times and lean not to my own understanding- I stay in the flow! Proverbs 3;5-6
- I rely on God at all times – Rivers of living water are flowing continuously from my innermost being. John 7:37-38
