Whoever believes in me . . . streams of living water will flow from within him. (John 7:38)
a ship had run out of fresh water while sailing the high seas. It appeared the crew would die of thirst. What irony! Water roiled all around them, as far as the eye could see, but it was salt water. They were in a situation similar to that described by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “Water, water everywhere, and all the boards did shrink; Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.”
A lookout sighted a ship in the distance. The captain ordered a distress signal to be sent, informing the ship of their plight. The reply came back: “Dip it up.”
At first, the troubled sailors thought the crew of the passing ship was mocking them. However, when they lowered a bucket, they discovered it was fresh water. They thought they were on the high seas, but they were actually in the mouth of the mighty Amazon River.
The Amazon, which accounts for about 20 percent of the earth’s fresh water entering our planet’s oceans, releases a plume of fresh water into the Atlantic from 60 to 120 miles wide.
Greater than the Amazon, the Lord Jesus extends life-giving water to all who will accept this free gift. He promised, “I will pour water on him that is thirsty” (Isa. 44:3 kjv). Only His refreshing presence satisfies the deepest thirst of our lives.
Don’t go away thirsty. “Dip it up”—life-giving satisfaction—from God’s refreshing presence.
Ron McClung works at his denomination’s world headquarters and lives in Indiana with his wife, Carol. They have two sons and nine grandchildren.
