Behind our farmhouse, a natural spring flows down the mountainside. You might not notice it as it moves through the lush fern gully strewn with moss covered rocks. But this spring provides the water for our home and the surrounding barns. This hidden aqueduct is a source of life for us as well as the wildlife in the area.
We’ve come to depend on the consistency of the spring to supply all our needs. So, it shocked us when we turned on a faucet and nothing came out. No water! With all the rainfall we’ve had over the summer, surely the spring wasn’t dry.
Neither my husband nor I kn0w a thing about the functioning of a spring fed water system. Now was the time for reinforcements. This is when people who have lived in the area their whole lives, are invaluable. With our neighbor Roger’s help, we discovered that the cistern up the hillside from the house was empty but the water in the spring box was full. Either a broken pipe or an obstruction impeded the flow of water down the mountain.
As they investigated further, they found tiny roots and leaves had worked their way under the concrete lid of the spring box, blocking the exit pipe. There also were roots surrounding the opening into the cistern dampening the flow of water into the tank. Once all these obstructions were removed, a constant stream of clear spring water returned. It filled the cistern, bringing water to our home once more.
While we assumed everything was fine, insidious invaders were entangling our spring system until they cut off the flow of water completely. We weren’t even aware of an issue until our cistern was dry.
If I’m not careful, my spiritual life suffers in the same way. When I let the cares of this world put undue pressure on my emotions, they dampen my connection to Jesus. My level of peace lowers when I spend more time on my “to do list” than time dedicated to contemplation and reading God’s Word. Social media dries up my compassion to the point that I listen more to the internet than to the real people in my life. Like our cistern, tiny roots entangle my soul, cutting off the flow of power from the Holy Spirit and leaving me parched from lack of Living Water.
Jesus provides this hidden aqueduct: a source of life, to all who believe. But even believers can take this spring of refreshment for granted. Don’t be caught unaware. Tiny roots like those cutting off the flow of water from our natural spring, conspire to cut off our connection to Christ. Do some preventive maintenance today to clean out all that threatens the flow of Living Water in your own life. Never allow your cistern to run dry.
Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never thirst. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.
The words of Jesus from John 4:13-14 CEB
