Little Specks
“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” – John 7:38
“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” – John 7:38
Several years ago I wanted to add a touch of tranquility to my backyard flower garden. After much thinking, I decided to put a small pond in a secluded corner. After the hole was dug, I purchased a liner, pump, and three fountain heads. Then I set it all up. I was delighted with the water display it generated, and the soft, babbling sound of water cascading down brought a feeling of peace.
Many afternoons I would enjoy an hour or two of reading in this restful spot. Then one morning I wandered out into my garden listening for the peaceful sound of the water, but instead I heard a loud splashing. As I walked toward the pond, I noticed water spraying up in every direction. I took off a fountainhead and cleaned it, but it did not fix the problem. A few days later I took the pump apart and found a little speck of dirt lodged behind the screen. I cleaned it out and put everything back together. My fountain worked perfectly again! The whole problem had been the little speck of dirt that had restricted the water flow.
Jesus promised that as Christians, rivers of living water will flow through us. However, as we go through an average day, little “specks” can become embedded in our hearts that would restrict God’s Spirit from flowing. Maybe a speck of bitterness appeared when someone said something hurtful or untrue about us. Maybe we allowed some pride to enter when the boss did not like the idea we proposed, which we felt was superior to others. It could be that a bit of gossip left us with a grimy feeling. The devil loves to inject little specks of discord into our day, trying to make us unsuccessful in our walk with God. If we do not take the time to clean away these specks through prayer, they will only grow.
If something is hindering our walk with the Lord today, we need to pray and ask Him to remove it. Then His living water can flow freely through us without restriction, a blessing in our own lives and to all those around us as well.