Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13,14)
About 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is water. However, nearly 97 percent of the that water is salt water, and while it may promise the quenching of one’s thirst, it actually increases one’s thirst. Drinking salt water actually leaves you more dehydrated than you were before. On July 30, 1945 the battle cruiser USS Indianapolis was struck by a Japanese torpedo in the Pacific Ocean, and sank within minutes. One of the men who survived for four days in shark-infested waters reported, “When the hot sun came out, and we were in this crystal clear ocean, we were so thirsty. You couldn’t believe it wasn’t good enough to drink. I had a hard time convincing the men they shouldn’t drink. The real young ones… they would drink the salt water and they would die fast.”
So it is with the temptations of Satan; while promising pleasure and satisfaction, they leave one feeling unsatisfied and more parched than before. Every day of your life, Satan will again seek to tempt you to follow the pleasures of sin, whether that be the lusts of the flesh, or the desire for riches, or simply your pride and your confidence in yourself. And every day of your life, you need to be directed back to the One who provides living water. Immerse yourself in His Word so that you may be able to recognize the hollow temptations of Satan for what they are – empty lies. It is only as we become ever more familiar with Him who is the Living Water, that we will be able to recognize and refuse the salt water.
But notice too, that while nearly 97 percent of the earth’s water is salt water, yet there is sufficient fresh water for all! There is grace sufficient and in abundance! May God cause the Living Water that he has given to us to become a spring of water within us, blessing all those we come in contact with, until that day when our thirst will be perfectly and eternally quenched in His glorious presence!