Isaiah 12:3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.

This brief chapter is one of my favorite in the whole Bible, and this verse has resonated in my heart ever since I heard Andrae Crouch quote it in the process of a worship tape I heard years ago. The chapter as a whole is a reminder that however bad things might look at the moment, a time of glorious praise and joy is going to come. In verse one and verse four it says, “In that day you will say.” How marvelous to look forward to! In the middle of all that comes this verse, and it’s worthy of meditation. It says, “draw water from the well/spring of salvation.” The NIV uses well and the Japanese uses spring, but there is the combined term of wellspring, meaning a point of origin, and that certainly seems appropriate. What strikes me is that the water of salvation is available, as Jesus famously told the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well, (John 4) but drawing water requires an act of volition on our part. The cross of Christ provided salvation for all mankind, but only those who choose to repent and believe are saved. Salvation isn’t something we can accomplish, but at the same time it is not passive: it requires choice and action. Paul put it in terms of belief and confession. “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10 (NIV) A vague idea that Jesus is the Savior isn’t sufficient in and of itself; salvation requires crying out to Him to save us. I have often told people it’s like being told someone has created a massive bank account in your name. That might sound really good, but until you believe enough to actually go to the bank and claim the account, you can’t access any of the money. Jesus died in our place to give us eternal life, but until you believe it enough to confess your need of salvation and ask Him for it, it won’t do you any good. We have to “draw water from the wellspring of salvation.”

This is as true for me as it is for anyone. I was practically born loving Jesus, but I still had to choose to commit myself to Him, which I clearly remember doing at the age of seven. However, salvation isn’t static, and I wasn’t at all consistent in drinking the water I had drawn. I descended into the fallacy of, “I’ve got the water, and I’m fine.” It wasn’t until I was 24 that I realized I needed to keep drinking, and even today I sometimes need reminders that I need to “keep hydrated” with God’s salvation. Today I seek to be a “water carrier” to those around me, but they ultimately need to choose to drink, and to draw water for themselves.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Show me how I’m to put it into practice today. I ask for Your appointments with those who are thirsty so that I may show them how to draw Your living water, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!