Hello, conference family. I'd like to share a thought with you today.
My wife and I love flowers. In front of our home, we have many beautiful, beautiful flowers. We have sweet peas, geraniums, pansies, lilies, daisies, begonias and sweet lavenders. But flowers need water. If they don't get water, they will simply die. Early this morning, I could hear the sprinkler system come on to provide the flowers, which my wife and I planted, with much-needed water.
Like the flowers. Our bodies need water that is beneficial to our health. Drinking water helps the body function better. Drinking water can provide relief from headaches, which can be triggered by dehydration. Drinking water will aid in our digestive health. Drinking water can even improve our mood. Scientists say that we need at least eight glasses of water every single day.
The thought came to my mind that, much like flowers and our bodies need water, we also need another type of water. This water is spoken of by Jesus in John 4. Jesus was tired one day and he sat by a well while the disciples went to look for food. The Bible says that a Samaritan woman came to draw water and Jesus asked her for a drink. She didn't know who he was, but she asked him how he could ask her for water since he was a Jew and she was a Samaritan—and Jews didn't talk to Samaritans. Jesus ignored her question and said, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is who asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water. Whoever drinks this water will never thirsty again." Jesus was saying, "You can satisfy my physical thirst, but I can satisfy the thirst of your soul with living water, fresh water, flowing water, life-giving water." Jesus was introducing himself as the Messiah.
This water brings peace in the midst of the trials and the difficulties of everyday life. This water brings answers when faced with the uncertainties that life brings. This water brings strength in our moments of weakness and frailty. It brings grace, but only as we daily draw from Christ, His life, His strength. Then we will be able to grow strong amid the scorching heat that life brings.
I wonder if that's what the Psalmist David meant when he said, "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water." One of my favorite authors is Ellen G. White, and in her book, The Desire of Ages, page 187.2, she says, "He who seeks to quench his thirst at the fountains of this world will drink only to thirst again. Everywhere men are unsatisfied. They long for something to supply the need of the soul. Only One can meet that want. The need of the world, 'They desire of all nations,' is Christ. The divine grace which He alone can impart, is as living water, purifying, refreshing, and invigorating the soul." John the Revelator, toward the end of his journey in Revelation, chapter 22, says "And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him tak the water of life freely."
I ask you today: Are you drawing from Christ, your living water today? God's life and strength awaits you. Let Jesus water your soul over and over again each day, and you will find rest until your soul. May God bless you and be with you is my prayer.