Influencers Weekly Devotional
Hidden But One Day Revealed
by
Rocky Fleming
“But whoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any more. But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing, bubbling) [continually] within him unto (into, for) eternal life.” John 4:14 (Amplified Bible) I read an interesting quote by Oswald Chambers and it reminded me of Jesus’ words in John 4:14. It says: “My worth to God publicly is measured by what I really am in my private life. Is my primary goal in life to please Him and to be acceptable to Him, or is it something less, no matter how lofty it may sound?” Oswald Chambers This is how it the quote and scripture affected me. Consider: We live in a time that validation by our peers or our society is the perspective we often use to value our self. But have you ever considered that we are using the wrong people and system to value our self, or to shoot for if they are our guides? A big problem occurs when we do this, for many of those perspectives are contrary to God’s values. If we follow peer values and the world’s value system, we often find ourselves following values that are contrary to God’s ways. As we begin to adopt them as our own, we begin to have our life shaped toward a point of view that is contrary to God. As a result we grow away from God and into something that we never wanted to become, and we wonder how it happened? Now this is nothing new, as anyone who has had to struggle through adolescence would know. Few people have escaped that period of their life without some kind of damage or residual effects. Those years between age 13 and 19 are the worse as far as peer pressure to be like the group, or to be popular, or to be accepted goes. I remember when I left that period in my life and headed to college, it was like escaping a hidden pressure that constantly lived within me. But, it didn’t leave me. It followed along with me to the next stage for I still wanted my peers to accept me. The only difference was I now had a college point of view that I wanted to be approved of. Sure, I had developed an attitude that saw the old stuff as pitiful … or least those particular things that troubled me in high school. The old things didn’t get to me like they once did. But, the need for some sort of affirmation from people I respected was always needed, even as I left the old needs behind. Again, this is nothing new. It is a natural process to mature through stages of life such as I have mentioned. But here is the big problem that goes with us. The problem is if we don’t get a right perspective and view of ourselves as God sees us, then we will maintain the same need for some sort of reinforcement from others in all points of our life for the rest of our life, and it will shape us toward the way they think. So the question I have for you is this: “Will you allow God’s perspective of you to be enough to reinforce your value to Him and the life you want to have?” I tell you that if you will do so and if things are right in your relationship with God, then there is no amount of peer or societal pressure that will be able to influence you to value yourself based on their point of view or follow their ways. So let’s look at the scripture and Chambers quote. In the scripture, Jesus said that there would be a “spring of water” that will well up and overflow in a life of a person who drinks of the water He gives him or her. The water was a metaphor and He was actually referencing Himself with the analogy. The picture Jesus gave is like a water vase (us) when it is placed under a continuously flowing faucet (Him), and as the water pours from the faucet into the vase it spills over the sides (our life) of the vase. The water fills the vase full, and then spills over for it is a continuously flowing water source, and as long as the vase is in the right position, it will continue to be filled. Likewise Jesus said that because He is the “Living Water,” He fills us up completely (if we are in the right position), and then overflows His own life through us into the lives around us. The key to this analogy is that it is the inside build-up of the water in the vase that spills over and waters its surroundings. Likewise it is the inside build-up of Christ in us, as Jesus fills us with Himself that He then spills over and out of our life. Therefore, it is actually Christ in us who is working His way to the surface of our life. Got the picture? Because this dynamic requires an essential, constant, abiding connection with Christ is why Chambers was addressing our primary need to keep a healthy relationship with Christ. We do this by making it our goal to please Him, and to do things that are acceptable to Him. Chambers then addressed the fruit of this healthy relationship. He said our worth to God publically (outward) has a direct correlation to our hidden, private time with Him (inward). There is a much-needed residual affect that comes from this healthy connection with Christ. A great one is we begin to measure ourselves differently. We no longer use the value system of our peers or society to value our self. We see ourselves as God sees us, and if our relationship with Him is healthy, then our self-esteem, our self-worth, and our ability to influence our world is healthy, for we know who we are and Whom we serve. This is “a fruit” of abiding in Christ, and is how we influence our world around us. Now here’s another picture of the fruit of abiding with Christ. Jesus said that we would also be a source of “Living Water” to those people around us. I believe Jesus was describing the “Fruit of the Spirit” that is expressed through our life. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, these are the characteristics of Christ, and when we abide in Him, they pour through us like a vase being filled with water and then overflowing to the things around it. To say it like Christ did, “But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing, bubbling) [continually] within him.” For the reasons I have listed above, we should make it our first priority to live in a state of being filled by Jesus. This happens when we abide in Him, for His Holy Spirit pours into us when we seek Him with all our heart. So my exhortation to you is to open up … and drink deeply … for your world needs a man or woman who knows who they are, Who they serve, and shows them where they can have their thirst satisfied. But you need it first, so open up and drink.