Today I had an opportunity to observe the immediate benefits of taking my burdens to God. Earlier, I felt discouraged and anxious about my future, which led me to a total panic. In my frenzy, I hurriedly began googling solutions, reading other bloggers’ advice, listening to an audiobook, and finally burying my head under my covers hoping that sleep would ease my anxiety.
Unfortunately, I woke up in the same panicked state. I crawled out of bed and immediately felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to pray. Simultaneously, I experienced an overwhelming feeling of dread and defeat because I didn’t feel like praying. Praying, I reasoned, would deplete me of my little remaining energy.
Still, I dragged myself to my prayer closet, lay on the floor, and pleaded for God to help me be authentic and vulnerable with Him. I told Him I was feeling so burdened by my emotions that I would even need His help stringing together a coherent thought.
I’ll be honest. I struggled in prayer at first. Then, it is as if something broke. The floodgates opened and my words flowed unabated and passionately. It didn’t happen immediately, but God met me in that place. His peace washed over me and I experienced the comfort and relief I sought.
Tearfully, I cried out to the Lord to show He cares for me. Not long after, I decided to read Psalm 103. The opening verses penetrated my heart, and undoubtedly I knew God loves me. The verses read as follows:
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 103: 2-5
My point in sharing this testimony is twofold.
One, I want to affirm that there is only one source of living water- His name is Jesus. Two, I want to remind us that getting water requires us to “visit a well”.
Here is what I mean. I could have easily avoided prolonging my panic by taking my worries to the Prince of Peace. I know this in my head, yet I believed reading about Him from other peoples’ perspectives would suffice. Long story short- it didn’t work.
No amount of arbitrary guidance from Google, Christian encouragement on YouTube, blog advice, rants with my loved ones, or any source other than the Lord Himself could give me what I was looking for. Unfortunately, no matter how many videos I watched or articles I read I needed just a little more. Simply put, I didn’t recognize that these sources were like broken cisterns unable to quench my thirst and fill me.
Today, I learned I must resist the impulse to go to ANYTHING or ANYONE other than the Lord Himself. Thankfully, He wants to provide living water to me. “Open your mouth wide and I will fill it”, says the Lord (Psalm 81:10). This is such a blessing, which brings me to my next point!
The proverbial secret is out! Those who go to Him with open mouths are the ones who get filled. You can’t distance yourself with a closed mouth and expect God to give you what you need. Turning to the Internet and friends and expecting them to fix you before taking it to Jesus is the equivalent of standing around with a closed mouth.
In the future, I want to run to Jesus before seeking outside “counsel”. He delights in meeting the needs of those who come to Him. I experienced it firsthand. When you choose living water, you are blessed. Ditch the broken cisterns!
13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
