“For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13 (ESV).
Imagine you were lost in a desert, having had no water for days. Then suddenly, you are offered the choice between drinking water from a fountain or searching for your water by digging your own well. Which option would you choose?
Common sense would dictate that anyone valuing their life would choose the fountain. Why labour for water when it can be provided to you freely? Why choose a method that requires effort when water is brought to you in abundance?
As obvious as this decision may seem, we often fail to make it. The Lord addresses this through the prophet Jeremiah regarding Israel.
“For my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13 (ESV).
This truth was relevant then, and it remains painfully real in our lives today. We often adopt a false sense of strength, believing we can fulfill ourselves. We choose methods that we think will satisfy us, only to end up with cisterns that eventually run dry, so we keep filling them. The more we fill the cistern we have hewn out, the larger the cracks grow. When that cistern is empty, we try to create a bigger one, and the cycle continues.
The desert analogy may seem unrealistic, but we really do live in a desert. We live in a world that is barren and empty—a world where everyone has their shovel and their pickaxe close by, ready to dig. Everyone is thirsty, but there is only one true source. There is only one faithful source that will truly quench our thirst. What a beautiful way to describe the love of God! It is a fountain that comes to you, and all you have to do is receive it. God loves us this way because He is fully aware of our weaknesses. We are not even strong enough to draw the waters ourselves, so He brings it to us by means of a fountain. It’s amazing how, despite our weaknesses, we still convince ourselves we can find fulfillment on our own terms.
While there is no strength in our weakness, there is strength in Jesus. He is our source of strength, but He cannot be that for us unless we come to Him with a clear acknowledgment of our weakness. We must approach the fountain, recognizing that His love will quench our thirst indefinitely.
Today, let go of your pickaxe and shovel. Run, walk, or crawl to the fountain of living water—just get there. Humble yourself, realize your limitations, and acknowledge that you cannot fill yourself. God is waiting for you to come to Him, thirsty and desperately wanting His love.
Let’s Prayer:
Jesus, You are my strength. Apart from You, I am nothing. Truly reveal to my heart this truth from Your Word. Help me put my full faith in the truth that You are with me and that You alone are my strength. Forgive me today for using the strength You have given me to hew out cracked cisterns that hold no water, for trying to find fulfillment in myself. Instead, help me use the strength You give me to move myself to Your fountain of living water. Thank you, God, that You offer this fountain, this source that will quench my thirst indefinitely. Amen.
