Drinking From Broken Cisterns

Daily Devotional – Friday, March 10, 2023
For My people have committed two evils. They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Jeremiah 2:13 (NKJV)

Whenever there is prolonged drought is arid areas, herders move with their flocks and belongings in search of water and pasture. As water points become scarce, shepherds resort to old abandoned wells. In these broken cisterns, they find little water that lasts a short while, after which, they set off in search of more short-term solutions.

Sipping from Cracked Reservoirs

In the spiritual realm, too, there are cracked reservoirs that offer temporary relief while crowding out God from our lives. For example, alcohol and drug abuse are only temporary refuges from prevailing troubles. The addict is in search of meaning, love and acceptance but in the wrong place.

Gambling is another cracked cistern. Compulsive betting used to be a preserve of a few brave souls that dared frequent casinos. Today, people gamble anonymously from the comfort of their homes using computers and mobile phones. A gamer is an individual searching for the essence of life away from the true source.

Enjoying Temporary Relief

Similarly, some people’s leaking wells are abusive relationships. Others resort to illicit sexual relationships that leave them frustrated. When they find no satisfaction in such associations, they hop into yet other exploitative associations. Theirs becomes a vain search for happiness in the wrong places.

Millennia ago, the Israelites fell into a similar trap. God admonished them through Prophet Jeremiah, saying, “For My people have committed two evils. They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13).

Drinking from Broken Cisterns

Whenever we turn away from God, the Fountain of Living Waters, we are bound to pursue futile short-term solutions, comparable to broken cisterns. It is a sin to abandon God, our loving Life-Giver. We aggravate our situations when we seek for satisfaction in unbridled pleasure, addiction and other forms of rebellion against God.

Take a moment to reflect on your relationship with God. Which cracked wells have you turned to at the expense of your relationship with God? What is preventing God from taking the first place in your life? Today, determine not to drink from broken cisterns. Instead, recommit your life to the Fountain of Living Waters – God Almighty.

Prayer
Dear Father. Forgive me for forsaken You, the Fountain of Living Waters, and hewing for myself broken cisterns that can hold no water. Quench my thirst and give my life its true meaning.