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Psalm 46:4-7 – There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
In the beginning God created a river that flowed out of the garden paradise of Eden. As it left the garden, that single river divided into four rivers, the Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. These four rivers delivered life-giving water to the newly created earth. Scholars today can only speculate on the possible locations of the Pishon and Gihon, but the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are still well-known. In the new beginning that will be ours in Jesus’ eternal presence in paradise, there will be another river “whose streams make glad the city of God.” These happy streams form “the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1b).
In between the stories of those two life-giving rivers in Scripture flows the Jordan River. The people of Israel crossed the Jordan as they left the wilderness and entered the Promised Land God gave to them. Our Lord Jesus stepped into the waters of the Jordan to be baptized, the sinless Son of God identifying with the sinners He came to save. When Jesus came out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove and came to rest on Him. Anointed by the Spirit of God, Jesus promised the Father’s gift of that same Spirit to those who believed in Him. Jesus revealed Himself as the Messiah to the woman at Jacob’s well and offered her water that would become “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14b). Those who drink of that water would never be thirsty again. Jesus proclaimed, “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:38b).
The living water that wells up within us to eternal life, this first taste of the river of the water of life, is the Holy Spirit, “who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it” (Ephesians 1:14a). The Spirit, who from our Baptism has lived within us, is the guarantee that by God’s grace through faith in Jesus, we will one day receive our inheritance of eternal life. The Lamb who was slain for us is the Shepherd who continues to lead us to green pastures and still waters. Then, when we live in His eternal presence, our Shepherd will satisfy our hunger and thirst forever and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. The river that makes glad the city of God will make us glad for all eternity.
WE PRAY: Lord, let the living water of the Spirit overflow into the lives of others through my words of witness and acts of love and service. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.
Reflection Questions:
- Do you have a favorite river or lake that you like to go to? What makes it special?
- Water figures prominently in the Bible. Can you name some instances or situations when it does?
- How does Jesus give us water that will never dry up?
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