April 2

For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:13.

Christ is our fountain of living water. He brings us life as it is meant to be—His very own life dwelling within us. Let us never turn from Him. But what is this about cisterns?
I remember my grandmother’s house, with a cistern in the basement to collect rainwater from the roof gutters. She would use it to wash clothes, but not for drinking. Yes, it had a reputation for collecting some varieties of floating objects—yes, bugs—that one would not want to drink. Are we indeed like cistern builders?

A cistern stores stagnant water. There is no movement, no cascade of ripples that vitalize the water with fresh air. A cistern represents man’s way of storing what originally is good but without any means of preserving its intended vitality. We are to realize that the “bread and water” of life cannot be stored. God dramatized this in the wilderness with the manna from heaven. Each day’s harvest was sufficient—it was not to be hoarded. I am afraid we are doing this today with all of the manmade ways of trying to create our own self-sufficiency. We substitute manmade doctrines for the doctrine of Christ. We are like the farmer whom Jesus rebuked as he laid up treasures in his barn with no regard for honoring or serving the Lord. When we turn away from the Lord the fruits of our labor become stagnant. If we try to save Your living water we shall discover that it leaks away—like a broken cistern. We are to just let that living water be sufficient for each moment.

Today I ask You, Lord, for the grace to always trust in Your supply of living water. I cannot create it, store it, preserve it, or make any plans for it. You are the life-giving Spirit that is spontaneous. Teach me this I ask in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
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