- 86. Water for the Thirsty
Isaiah 44:3, 4 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.
The pouring out of water is equal to the pouring out of God’s Spirit. The Spirit is like water on dry ground; the water is for the thirsty. The Spirit is life for the dry, thirsty and empty. This outpouring is a fulfilled promise: it happened on the Day of Pentecost, 50 days after the Resurrection. The pouring out of the Spirit continues every day during the days since. Believers in Christ are filled with the Spirit, like water for the thirsty, once and many times during their lifetime.
We, as sinners, are always dry and thirsty, and at the same time we are always being filled with the Spirit, the living water. Spiritually this occurs every time we hear the Gospel; the promise is fulfilled over and over again; we need it over and over again. We live our lives in the midst of a dry and thirsty land; our souls continue in sin and death and are always in need of an injection of water and life. The Holy Spirit, who resides in our spirit, is continually using the Word of Gospel to refresh and give newness of life to the soul.
A further aspect of this promise that we can claim is that the spirit is also promised to our seed and our offspring, This would include both our physical offspring, while we pray for our children and grandchildren regularly, and also our spiritual offspring, who come to faith through our witnessing through word and deed. We take hold of this promise in order to know that every time we support the preaching of the Gospel with our time and money, every kind deed done in Jesus’ name, every act of kindness, every word of witness will not return void but it will accomplish the purposes of God. The promise of God includes a blessing for offspring; believe you are a blessing to family and friends.