Devotion 26 March 2026

And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. Revelation 22:17

READING: John 4: 7-14

The Bible is full of passages about water. Water is used all over the Bible to refer to God and God’s ability to refresh us, in times of spiritual drought, representing salvation, covenant faithfulness, opportunities for deep spiritual encounter, and experience of eternal life. 

In the Old Testament, wells symbolise divine provision, life-sustaining grace, and God’s faithfulness in supplying needs in the wilderness, as seen with Hagar (Genesis 21:19) and the Israelites. They also symbolise spiritual nourishment, often serving as a sacred meeting place between God and humanity, such as Isaac at Beersheba (Genesis 26:23-33).

Isaiah 12:3 uses the well to symbolise the joy and abundance of God's salvation, offering "living water" that refreshes the soul and in the New Testament, Jesus links wells to the "living water" of the Holy Spirit, which brings eternal life.

In real life, most of us have not experienced the operation of a well. But we know that there is a deep, inaccessible hole, a bucket of some sort tied to a rope of some sort, with which one lowers the empty bucket and winds it up, full of water. We can draw some parallels here to illustrate our search for the “living water” of Jesus.

So often, even as we search for God, we find ourselves in a place which seems as dark, and as threatening as a deep, suffocating well. Sometimes, we indeed feel as if we are sinking down, or being dragged down, far away from lifegiving light and air. But just as it is that the coolest, freshest water is found in the deepest well, so it is that, if we hold the faith in the dark night of the soul, it will be that we will experience the joy and refreshment of God’s pristine water of life.

We need to remember that a full bucket cannot receive any new fresh water. So it is that we must be prepared to empty the “bucket” of our heart and soul, so that we can be filled with that lifegiving water. We have to let go of the ‘other’ things that clutter our lives, so that we have space for the water of life.

Prayer

God who created water, I beg you to pour Your refreshment into my life. Give me the power of the springs of water from the Holy Spirit, so that I may live a life that honours You. Amen