East
Africa is one of the driest places on earth, which is what makes “Nairobi” such
a significant name for a city in that region. The name comes from a Masai
phrase meaning “cold water,” and it literally means “the place of water.”
Throughout
history, the presence of water has been both life-giving and strategic. Whether
a person lives in a dry climate or a rainforest, water is a nonnegotiable
necessity. In a dry and barren climate, knowing where to find the place of
water can mean the difference between life and death.
Our
spiritual life also has certain nonnegotiable elements. That is why Jesus, upon
encountering a spiritually thirsty woman at a well, declared to her that He
alone could provide living water. He told her, “Whoever drinks of the water
that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him
will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life”
(John 4:14).
Like the deer mentioned in Psalm 42:1-2 who pants for water, our souls thirst for God and long for Him (63:1). We desperately need the sustenance that comes only from Jesus Christ. He is the source of living water that refreshes our hearts.
