Hand It Up

John 4:¹⁴ “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (emphasis added).

If you want your life to be bubbling and fresh, you have to drink from the Living Waters. When you drink consistently from the Living Waters, you will become an enigma to the folks around you. They would not be able to understand why you are rejoicing and full of life when everything around you should make you sad, worried and sober. In spite of the challenges you are faced with, you remain excited, joyful and fresh. Why? It is because your excitement is not determined by an external factor. Your excitement flows from your Source, the Spring of Living Waters. Huge!

What connects us to the Living Waters inside of us is the Word and Worship. John 4:²³ “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth…” However, a lot of people have different ideas about what worship is. To some people, worship is singing a slow gospel song. However, worship really has nothing to do with the tempo of the song – whether it is slow or fast. There are different stereotypes of what worship is. But Jesus says that the key to worship is spirit and truth, “the Father seeks true worshipers those that worship Him in spirit and in truth” (paraphrased).

Why is he clapping when everyone else has their hands lifted? Why is she sitting down when everyone else is standing? Why are your eyes open when everyone else has their eyes closed? When people do not do what everybody expects, they either get tagged as not being spiritual. We criticize people who do not conform to our stereotypes but really that has nothing to do with worship. At the heart of our being is the cry and the quest for our God and it can only be satisfied through genuine worship.

John 4:¹⁵ “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” Pay attention to what happens next. Jesus did not say go and bring your bucket or a vessel. John 4:¹⁶ “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.” Why? The thing you are trying to put into a void, that only God can fill, must be surrendered before God can fill it. And for this woman, it is the husband’s issue. Some women feel they cannot be complete without a husband. Some women even worship their husbands. Until you bring that ‘husband’, until you surrender that addiction to God, you cannot get the Living Waters.

Prayer: (song): I surrender all to you. Everything I give to you, withholding nothing withholding nothing… Amen!