“He turns rivers into a wilderness, and springs of water into a thirsty ground; A productive land into a [barren] salt waste, Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it. He turns a wilderness into a pool of water and a dry land into springs of water; And there He has the hungry dwell, So that they may establish an inhabited city.” Psalm 107:33–36 AMP

The Psalmist describes a land that became barren because of wickedness. Rivers dried up. Springs disappeared. Productivity vanished. That description fits our past lives perfectly. Apart from Christ, we had nothing eternal to hope in, nothing lasting to cling to. Our lives were like dry ground — unproductive, restless, spiritually thirsty.

But God is not only the One who allows rivers to dry up — He is the One who restores them. The prophet Isaiah declared:

“‘For I will pour out water on him who is thirsty, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants;’” Isaiah 44:3 AMP

Before the Spirit of God was poured into our lives, we were thirsty. We tried to quench that thirst — without success. Everything we pursued was like pouring water onto cracked ground. It was absorbed instantly and demanded more.

Psalm 107 tells us that after God restores the land, He brings the hungry to dwell there. Restoration becomes habitation. The barren place becomes fruitful again. This reminds us of the words of our Lord and Savior to the woman at the well:

“Jesus answered her, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water [satisfying his thirst for God] welling up [continually flowing, bubbling within him] to eternal life.’ The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I will not get thirsty nor [have to continually] come all the way here to draw.’” John 4:13–15 AMP

The well represented the cycle that had trapped her. She had to keep returning. The water satisfied temporarily, but not permanently. Jesus was speaking of a deeper thirst — the thirst of the soul. It is striking that He was speaking to a Samaritan. The Samaritans were considered “unclean,” and Jews would avoid interaction with them. Yet Jesus met her there, at her place of shame and repetition.

We were the unclean in our sin. Yet Christ met us at the well of our own brokenness and offered living water. The prophet Joel foretold a day when the Spirit would be poured out:

“It shall come about after this That I shall pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.” Joel 2:28 AMP

God fulfilled that promise on the day of Pentecost. The disciples were transformed from fearful men hiding in an upper room into bold witnesses in the streets. The promise of the Father — the Spirit of God — brought freedom and new life. Our thirst has changed. We no longer thirst for sin — we thirst for the Savior.

God is in the business of reconciliation and restoration. He turns wilderness into rivers. He turns dry land into springs of living water. Have you taken time today to drink of the Spirit? Just as your physical body cannot survive without water, neither can your spirit thrive without the living water of Christ.

Jesus said He came to set the captive free. The woman at the well, involved in numerous broken relationships, found water that truly satisfied.

Have you? Have a blessed day,
Pastor Ken