Remember as a kid, playing out in the yard with your buddies in the middle of the hot, summer day, dying for a sip of water? You knew going to the kitchen was too far, so you resorted to drinking something closer; you just drank water out of the garden hose.
I was thinking back to all the times I drank from a hose as a kid: at my house, my friend's house, the farm, my grandmothers. All of these were just regular hoses that when you turned on the faucet, water flowed. Well, water would only flow if the hose had no kink or anything crushing the line.
I have never thought much about drinking out of a garden hose before and you’re probably wondering the same thing: why I am talking about a hose? BUT you will follow in a second.
This blog is short, because my thought is pretty simple, but may open your eyes.
This thought came to me as I was reading John 4.
Jesus saw a Samaritan woman at the well and asked for her to draw some water for Him.
The woman replies that Samaritans do not associate with Jews.
Jesus then replies and says that if she knew who He was, she would have asked Him for living water.
She then rebuttals and says that He has nothing to draw water with.
Then Jesus says the verse that kind of shook me:
“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” (John 4:7-14)
When I read this, I thought of two kids drinking from the same faucet but with two different hoses.
The first kid on the right, who is drinking out of a hose, has most definitely been me. This kid has his hose hooked up to the source, desperate for water. If I turn on the faucet the water will flow for days. Somehow, I find myself sitting under the hose, mouth open, and only a few drops are coming out. Well, I did not check the hose and it has a kink which doesn't allow the water to flow normally (who has been here before? 🙋🏼♂️).
I search for the kink that is causing the problem, fix it, and proceed to try and drink. Well, because I am so thirsty, I grip the hose so tight, desperate for water, my grip stops the flow of the water.
Then there is the second kid on the left, who has a neatly wrapped hose, turns on the faucet, drinks his water out of the hose and never go thirsty.
So how in the world does this relate to Jesus drinking water at a well? The kid on the right, who's hose is connected to the same water source as the kid on the left, doesn’t realize that there are things in his past that are holding him up. The last time he used the hose, he left it in a mess; therefore, it doesn’t allow for the water to flow through. He is letting his past mistakes define his current situation. If he continues to hold onto his past, the water will never flow as it should.
Once the kid settles his kink out, the water will begin to flow, BUT right where his hand is, the water suddenly stops.
Why does it stop at his hand? Because he has the death grip trying to get water out of this hose; he is so thirsty, so desperate, trying to do all the work himself, when in reality, the hose will flow if he lets it.
The grip on the hose is oftentimes us. We have the source of living water flowing at all times, but because we do not want to let go of everything, sometimes we only get a partial version of the living water. We only get to experience part of God’s goodness, and I mean GOODNESS! He has so much he can overflow us with, we just have to be willing to let God do work in our lives.
For me, the hand on the right represents my pride. The death grip inhibits my ability to view God fully. Scared to let GO of everything, sell out for God, and pursue His will, instead we only give God what we fill is comfortable. You won’t grow in your comfort zone, I can promise you that. Once we can put aside our own thoughts on how to live a life of freedom and let God overwhelm us with freedom, we will experience living water that will quench your thirst forever.
So I ask this…
What is your hose connected to? What is your source?
The source is the Word of God. We have to pursue God through His word.
The source is prayer. We have to pursue God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The source is within community. We have to seek Godly relationships with people that encourage us, inspire us, and lift us up.