December 12, 2022

Jeremiah 2: 13 (NIV)

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

Having forfeited our confidence in God, we believe that in order to have the life we want, we must take matters into our own hands.*

Someone has observed about this passage that the pagans are guilty of only one sin – idolatry – while God’s people are guilty of two: idolatry and abandoning God.* Does that make us worse than the pagans? 

“US?” you might exclaim. “Speak for yourself – I’m no idolater.” No, I am sure that you have never bowed down to an idol. You would probably deny ever forsaking God as well, but we have all done it. We are guilty of digging our own defective cisterns to hold brackish water rather than trusting in God’s fountain of fresh spring water. How many times have you taken matters into your own hands because you were too impatient to wait for God? How much time have you spent worrying when you should have been trusting God? Have you ever looked for happiness instead of the joy of the Lord? When we cease to trust God’s provision – for direction, for peace, for daily bread – and put our faith in what we can do for ourselves, we have abandoned God and bowed down to a false god.

If you have never been a desert-dweller, perhaps Jesus’ promise to be the source of living water (John 4: 10) doesn’t resonate with you so much. Instead of thinking of the analogy in terms of good water, let’s look at it in terms of the bad. Have you ever shared a bottle of water with someone and you were the one who got the last swig? How refreshing was that? Have you ever ignored the advice to “don’t drink the water” in a foreign country? Let’s not talk about what happens when you do!

Jesus is the spring of living water – sweet, refreshing, life-giving, and it never runs dry. Don’t dig your own well – it will leak and the water isn’t pure. Trust in God. Worship him only.

For peace of mind, please resign as manager of the universe.*