Focus

Slow your breathing and become aware of the taking in and letting out of your breath. Focus on putting things aside so you will be open to what God is saying to you today.

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Read

John 7:37-39 (NRSV)

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

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Reflect

I love to work outside in the yard when the flowers are blooming and everything is fresh, vibrant, and thriving. Spring, when the forsythia is blooming, the jonquils are everywhere, and the peonies are pushing up through the ground, is my favorite time of the year. Digging in the dirt is great exercise for the body and the mind! Tending to the plants—weeding, feeding, and watering them—is so very important. As I watch the water soak into the dry earth, I know that the thirsty plants are getting the nurture they need.

The same happens with us when we allow the Holy Spirit to soak into us. We have a deep, abiding thirst within us that only God can fill. After Jesus went to be with God, God gave us the Holy Spirit to satisfy that thirst by living within us. Believing in Jesus and his purpose of delivering us from sin assures us that we will thirst no more for the love of God. All we need do is allow the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. Like the flowers of spring, we will thrive in the living waters.

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Pray

Loving God, we thank you so much for Jesus and for filling us with your love. Open our hearts and minds so that we can be filled with the living waters of the Holy Spirit. In the name of sweet Jesus. Amen.

Go with God.