My favorite radio station, KLOVE has spent 2 days being the voice for a water purification system. I usually get annoyed when the deejays fill my driving commutes with talking opposed to music but I found myself especially interested in this topic due to my recent trip overseas. KLOVE was teaming up with Compassion (a partner of World Vision) asking listeners to give a onetime gift that would supply clean water to an entire family in Rwanda for the rest of their lives. As I listened to the testimonies of families that had already received the purification system; I began to cry. I’m not sure if my tears came out of compassion or sorrow but I do know that between sniffles; I thought of testimonies from families who had captured my heart a short time ago. I have never been to Rwanda but I have recently been to a poverty stricken third world country where the water was unsafe to drink. For eight days, everything I had grown accustomed to regarding water no longer existed. I brushed my teeth with bottled water. I flushed my toilet using a bucket and a reservoir of water that was filled with parasites. I showered with extreme caution so I wouldn’t get unwanted water in my mouth or up my nose. (I also showered with socks to avoid plantar warts) After every hand washing, I applied an excessive amount of hand sanitizer. And for safe, clean drinking water, I had two options: the 10 gallon pump we kept in our van or bottled water from our hotel that was only available at meals. I pray that you don’t take this as my personal, “please feel sorry for me moment” because that is not my intention. In fact, I didn’t want to leave the Dominican Republic and I am already planning my return trip. I am only sharing these specific details of my trip to emphasize the struggles individuals in other countries face every day regarding clean drinking water.
When I walked in my front door after spending eight days overseas, I was exhausted mentally, physically, and emotionally. (I was on overdrive spiritually). My body was screaming at me to collapse into my clean sheets but my mind was saying, “A hot shower is exactly what you need. (There was absolutely NO way I wouldn’t have clean sheets on my bed) After a short deliberation, my longing for clean safe, water won out. I was willing to prolong exhaustion a wee bit longer if it meant I could wash my face in the shower and brush my teeth with water from the sink. Exhaustion doesn’t exist only when we push ourselves to the limits; it exists anytime we deprive ourselves of the living water that comes from Jesus. Jesus is our only true form of strength and He is the only one who can sustain us when we are physically, emotionally, and mentally drained. We don’t need water purifiers to experience the restoration that flows from His throne; we just need to take the lids off of our heads and allow Him to fill us up. When we are at the lowest most exhausting periods of our lives it is so easy to pretend that everything we know about His living water no longer exists. We rely on our depleting reservoir when He wants to refill us daily. That’s the beauty of Jesus friends. When we are exhausted and want to collapse into our beds for days; He is saying, “My love is exactly what you need.” His love that is constantly flowing from Heaven; His love that satisfies every thirst we could possibly have. Do you want a lifetime supply of His waters? Do you want to permanently put an end to your drought? Are you thirsty for Jesus? If you are, it requires a onetime gift: the gift of salvation. Once you ask Him into your heart; you have a lifetime supply of His living waters. He wants to fill you up friends regardless of your level of exhaustion. He wants to take away all of your previous struggles and replace them with your own personal testimony of how He purified your life.
I have a picture in my head of how Rwanda might look today: each family who received a purification system will be reminded of the endless flow of water given specifically to them every time they turn on a faucet. I have a picture in my head of how heaven might look someday: Each person who received God’s salvation will be reminded of His endless flow of living water, given specifically to them, each time we turned on His faucet.
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