Drink Deeply of His Presence

Drink to Receive 

Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant when He said, 

"If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink."(John 7:37KJV) 

We know what it means to drink water. 

But how do we drink of the Holy Spirit? 

How do we receive Him? 

And what does it mean to "quench not the Spirit"? 

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Jesus wasn't simply talking about drinking. 

He was talking about receiving. 

Many of us spend our Christian lives trying to get closer to God. 

We pray harder. 

Read more. 

Try to become better Christians. 

Yet Jesus never tells us to strive for living water. 

Instead, He simply invites us: 

"Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst." (John 4:14KJV) 

Living water is not something we produce. 

It is Someone we receive. 

Jesus goes on to say, 

"He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." (John 7:38 KJV) 

John immediately explains, 

"But this spake he of the Spirit..." (John 7:39 KJV) 

The Christian life is not about striving harder. 

It is about remaining open to the Holy Spirit. Hearing His voice, receiving His life, abiding in His presence, and allowing His living water to overflow through us.  

Wanting to understand Jesus' invitation more deeply, I began looking at the Hebrew word for drink. 

שתו (Shetu) 

Drink! 

The ancient Hebrew letters offer a beautiful devotional picture. 

ש (Shin) 

Ancient picture: A mother's breast or Teeth

Devotional picture: To eat, receive, take in, be nourished. 

Drinking begins with receiving. 

The Holy Spirit is not something we produce. 

He is Someone we receive. 

ת (Tav) 

Ancient picture: A mark or covenant sign 

Devotional picture: God's covenant, His faithfulness, His strength. 

The Holy Spirit is God's gift to those who belong to Him. 

We drink because He has already invited us into His covenant. 

ו (Vav) 

Ancient picture: A tent peg or nail 

Devotional picture: To join, connect, secure. 

As we receive the Holy Spirit, He joins us more deeply to Christ. 

He is the bond of our fellowship with God. 

When I put these three letters together, I see an invitation: 

Receive... 

God's covenant life... 

and be joined to Him. 

Drinking isn't something we do for God. 

Drinking is how we receive what God freely gives. 

That is what it means to drink deeply of His Presence. 

Suddenly another connection became clear. 

Drinking wasn't something I did for God. 

Drinking was simply receiving what He was already giving. 

I began asking myself... 

Am I still open? 

To drink... 

I open my mouth. 

To hear... 

I open my ears. 

To receive... 

I open my heart. 

In Belize, people often say someone has "hard ears" when they refuse to listen. 

I began wondering if we can have "hard ears" spiritually. 

Jesus says seven different times in Revelation 2–3, 

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." 

The issue isn't whether the Holy Spirit is speaking. 

The question is: 

Am I listening? 

He continues speaking... 

But we stop listening. 

Don't Quench the Spirit 

Then another verse came to mind. 

"Quench not the Spirit." (1 Thessalonians 5:19) 

Fire is quenched when it is smothered. 

Could it be that one way we quench the Holy Spirit is by closing ourselves to Him? 

By refusing His promptings. 

By ignoring His voice. 

By keeping our spiritual ears closed. 

By never opening our hearts to receive what He freely offers. 

The Holy Spirit never forces Himself upon us. 

He continually invites us. 

The question is: 

Am I still open? 

INVITATION 

Today, the invitation is simple. 

Today I don't want to strive harder. 

I simply want to stay open. 

Open ears to hear the Holy Spirit. 

Open mouth to drink deeply. 

Open heart to receive His Life. 

Open hands to walk in Obedience.  

Open life to let rivers of Living Water flow to others.  

PRAYER  

Holy Spirit... 

I receive what You freely give. 

Keep me open. 

Open my ears to hear the Holy Spirit. 

Open my mouth to drink deeply. 

Open my heart to receive His life. 

Open my hands to walk in obedience. 

Open my life to let rivers of Living Water flow to others. 

AMEN.

The invitation has never changed. 

Come. 

Drink. 

Receive. 

And let His Spirit flow through you.

And let His Spirit flow through you.