A Fount of Life, Healing and Salvation

This morning I felt I should read from Jeremiah 17:12-14 NIV:

[12] "A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary. [13] Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water. [14] Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise."

There are a couple of significant things in these three verses. First the description of God as the spring of living water - Jesus used this same description when talking to the Samaritan women at the well in John 4:10, 13-14 NIV:

[10] "Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” [13] Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, [14] but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

The Lord desires to be our source for refreshment, cleansing and life. Earlier in this chapter of Jeremiah, the prophet is talking about those that rely on man rather than God. It is so easy for us to turn away, rather than turn towards the Lord. Especially when things are going well, we can forget who our provider really is, namely the Lord. He desires to dwell within us, as the Holy Spirit, taking up residence in us, and becoming for us, and those around us, our source of life.

Secondly, of equal importance, we find in the verse 14 where healing AND salvation are described as being available in the Lord. This has been a consistent theme for me over the last few months - healing and salvation are both found in the Lord, are both available to us, and were both paid for through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. The original words in Hebrew for healing and saving, mean exactly that, healing and saving. There is no ambiguous language in this sentence, and there can be no misunderstanding. God wants us to understand that both are available from Him.

Lord, thank You that You are our source of living water, of life, of healing, of salvation. Lord, you truly are our hope in all things!