John 7:37-38:
On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted,
“All who are thirsty should come to me!
All who believe in me should drink!
As the scriptures said concerning me,
Rivers of living water will flow out from within him.”
I always love when Donna comes to speak to us! I’ve personally been blessed from all the words she shared with the Life-Spring family over the years, and last Sunday was no different. I listened again to the prayer she prayed for Life-Spring at the end of service, and a few lines stuck out to me (you can listen to her prayer here: https://youtu.be/y5-ND2pAclQ?t=6963).
“Be refreshed and filled in His presence.” Near the end of her prayer, Donna prayed that we would be refreshed and filled with God’s presence. Maybe some of us need that refreshing today. It’s been over a year since covid-19 was declared a global pandemic. We’ve seen three lock downs/shut downs since then. It was just announced that schools will once again go to online learning, the second or third time this has happened. We’re in constant prayer for friends and loved ones who are struggling with illnesses.
The weight of these times can be really heavy. It’s easy for our patience to wear thin and for exhaustion to set in. But God wants to refresh us. God wants to give us fresh resilience and strength to continue to bear our burdens. If you feel you need some refreshing, I encourage you to listen to Donna’s prayer again and listen for the voice of God speaking to you. Be encouraged! And if you need prayer or support, reach out to the pastoral team and we’d be glad to hear you and offer any support we can.
“Spring up, fountains of living water.” Another thing I heard from Donna was a challenge for our church family. In the devo from a few days ago, Gabe shared a vision he had during intercession (read it here: https://www.life-spring.org/grow-in-empathy/). All of us have been preserved or blessed in one way or another during the pandemic. But these blessings we’ve received aren’t just for our own good. God also wants us to be active in blessing others. We’re not to be a stale pond or shallow puddle during the pandemic. We’re to be a fountain of living water! Springs of living water are to flow from us and through us
Like Gabe mentioned in his devo, one way to be a fountain of living water is to have prayer spring up from us. Commit to praying every day for an end to the pandemic and for those affected by covid-19. Pray for our friends and family who have been affected or don’t know God. Pray for our neighbors and front line workers who are bearing the brunt of this wave of the virus. Pray, pray, pray.
Feel free to start small. Just pick a time of day to pray for a minute in whatever way you feel led. These are the little steps of obedience that add up to big changes for us and the situation. Let’s make every effort to not just hear what God is saying but be obedient to it. That’s how we become a spring of living water for others.