What so stirred the religious crowd of the day was when Jesus identified Himself as coming from His Father in heaven. In John 7:28 Jesus taught in the temple saying “You know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.” What made Jesus able to endure everything put upon Him as the pure sacrifice for the sin of humanity was His complete ability to rely on His Father. He was so joined through prayer with His Father that every breathe He took was placed in the hands of God.
How dependent upon the Lord are you? Are you able to endure the trials that come your way or do you crumble under the pressure even when the slightest thing goes wrong with your day? If we are not filled up with God we cannot be that vessel of living water that John 7:38 says will flow into the rest of the world. Any pain or concern we have can be seen as being thirsty for something that cannot fulfill our need. No matter how thirsty you may be, the point is you are in need; and when you are in need you are vulnerable and weak. To remain strong and vital we must constantly allow ourselves to be watered by the presence of God in our lives through His Word, intimate pursuit of Him, and constant submission to His will in our lives.
The difficulty is when, being nourished by God, we become stronger and then more independent from God, a vicious circle. The idea, however, is to crave the Lord whether you are thirsty or not through faithfulness. Jesus’ trust in His Father gave Him a lifeline to the heavenly truth of eternity. When we can build our trust to depend on nothing else except what comes from the Lord, we then find we can stand under any burden that tries to weigh us down. I encourage you to give yourself completely to God so you are able to bear all things with joy.
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