Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4:13-14
The largest river in the world is the Amazon. More water flows in its banks than flows in the Yangtze, the Mississippi, and the Nile rivers combined. The mouth of the amazing Amazon is more than 90 miles across; water from this great river creates currents as far as 200 miles at sea.
In bygone days, one of the ironies of navigation was that sailors in the South Atlantic could be caught adrift and helpless, their sails without wind, their gasoline supply exhausted. Eventually, their water supply would be depleted as well.
On one occasion, so says Earl Palmer, that very thing happened to a sailboat that was becalmed and in desperate straits. Those onboard were dying for lack of water. As a ship approached, they frantically signaled and cried for help. “Can you spare us some water? Our sailors are dying of thirst!” Back came the reply, “Just lower your buckets. You are in the mouth of the Amazon!”
What an irony—men fainting for lack of water when they didn’t realize fresh water was keeping their very boat afloat. I’ve been thinking of this in relationship to people who are surrounded by those who know God and are committed in their faith, yet they’re suffering from spiritual drought—the college student who has grown up in a Christian home but goes to college and abandons his faith; the husband or the father who watches his wife and family dress on Sunday morning and they go to church while he stays at home; the prodigal who turns his back on home and family and goes the opposite direction.
“Our sailors are dying of thirst!” and back came the reply, “Just lower your buckets.” Do you ever ask yourself, “What is it that keeps us from doing right?” Usually, it boils down to one issue: pride, our unwillingness to admit that we are wrong and that we need forgiveness and help.
Sometimes, though, we get thirsty enough to try almost anything, but there are other times when God in His kindness gently nudges us or allows circumstances to get our attention so we then “lower the bucket” and draw the water to assuage our spiritual thirst.
My friend, Dean Payne, was like that. Both Payne’s wife and his two sons were Christians, but he didn’t need God. After all, he was a corporate executive, and he was getting along quite well without God or religion. “Dad, I’m praying for you,” his son Bob used to say. Dean didn’t particularly like that or appreciate it.
And then his world was shattered as his son lost his life in an accident—it tore the very fabric of Dean’s life apart. It was then that he realized God was all around him, waiting for him to let God invade his heart. He did—it changed his life.
There’s something about God which needs to be said: He’s a gentleman who respects your will. He never forces Himself on you, but He invites you to reach out for His help. So many, like the sailors in the little boat in the mouth of the Amazon, are dying of thirst when they are surrounded by people who really care, people who are praying for them, who want to help.
Lowering the bucket into the sea isn’t always easy, but it’s the only solution. Jesus put it: “Whoever drinks the water [that] I give him will never thirst [again]” (John 4:13).
Why be overcome with thirst when you can “lower your bucket” into the sea of faith, and connect? Think about it. This may be the most important message you’ll ever hear.
Resource reading: John 4:1-26
