Encouragement

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"A Refreshing Sip"

Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of is. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi. --Judges 15:19 (NIV)

God provides for us in every situation when we believe in him and call on his name. He is able to provide big things, like eternal life, and he provides us with the little things like a sip of cool water when we are parched. It is important to understand that when it comes from receiving things from God, there really is no large or small. Everything that he gives is its own unique blessing, immeasurable by itself.

In this verse we see how Samson, the famous strong man of the Bible, is given additional strength when he calls on the Lord. Samson knew that his strength was not from himself, but from God. In the verses preceding this on, Samson had given due recognition to the Lord for his great victory of strength over the Philistine army. Samson also knew that the Spirit that fueled his strength in battle was the same strength he needed to sustain biological life. With that in mind, he called on the Lord for a drink of water. God heard him and blessed him by meeting this most basic need.

Those of you familiar with the story of Jesus and his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, may see the similarity of that story from the New Testament, and this one in the Old Testament. In the same way that Samson called out for water to live, the Samaritan woman asked to be given living water. In both examples, the source of that living water is God.

Throughout the Bible, water is used as a metaphor for the strength we receive from God. From a scientific standpoint, water is a topic of much interest, and drives home this metaphor much more for me. God designed our bodies to be made of up a very large percentage of water. Biologically, we need it to survive. Our cells need a specific amount of water in order to function properly. They also need water to be of the correct osmolarity, that is, the water needs to be in a precise balance with the other things around them, or the cells might either shrivel up or burst.

The use of water in a spiritual sense is fascinating and highly appropriate. The part that living water plays in our Christian lives is just as important as natural water is to our biochemical lives. Without living water, we would dry up in the world. The gift of living water sustains our lives--out eternal lives--in much the same way that di-hydrogen monoxide sustains biological life for virtually every organism on the planet.

God is the source of our living water. He provided the well for Samson, thereby making him strong in body as well as in spirit. He does the same for us when we call on his name. The words "En Hakkore" as found in today's verse, means "caller's spring". God causes a well of life to spring up in each of us when we call on him. Living water sustains us and allows us to carry on in our Christian lives. Even the tiniest sip of the water that flows from the giver of life is enough to completely refresh and rejuvenate us.

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