John 7:25-44
25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”
28 Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
33 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” c 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”
41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him. [1]
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What’s fascinating about Jesus declaration in 7:37 is that the water streams up from within. His promised solution to thirst is not a ready supply outside of the person, but rather a spring that wells up from within the person. This is similar to what He promised the woman at the well in 4:14, that “the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
God the Holy Spirit is never far from us. When we pray for His strength, filling and guidance, we are not trying to conjure the presence and power of a far-off, outside force. The Holy Spirit has been given us, and dwells within us. As Paul says, we are temples of the Holy Spirit. His strength, guidance, and love accompany us at all times.
I find this very comforting and assuring. What a testament of the love our God has for us! What blessing we have with us and available to us in all circumstances! So my prayer today is one of thanks to the Holy Spirit for presence, guidance and strength, along with a prayer that today I would be led by the Spirit in all things.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Jn 7:25–44). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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