I started writing content for this ministry about nine years ago. It began with very short snippets of reflections on Scripture with a shareable graphic. Then, we dug a little deeper and started unpacking whole chapters of the Bible. The book of Acts took quite a long while, twenty-eight weeks to be exact. We eventually transitioned these studies into weekly devotionals, mostly focusing on individual stories from people’s walk with Jesus. Not every week was an interview, but when we could, we tried to capture as many testimonies as possible. Most reflections aren’t Paul-like with explosions, scales falling from our eyes, and bursts of lightning, but every story is equally important to God.
During one of my interviews, a close friend, Lynn, said, “You should make a book out of these devotionals. You could call it, ‘Surfing the Living Waters.’” So there you go.
“My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
Jeremiah 2:13
Jeremiah wasn’t prophesying here; he was telling it like it was. Bleak. He said God’s people had committed not one but two evils: forsaking God, the fountain of living waters, and replacing Him with a self-dug but broken cistern that couldn’t hold water. It meant they abandoned the source of true life, satisfaction, and security and turned to flawed, self-made systems that ultimately failed them.
So which is worse: forsaking God, the fountain of living waters, or rejecting the one true and constant source of spiritual and physical sustenance by digging their own cisterns? Of course, they didn’t plan on the cisterns being broken, nor do we plan on being broken for turning away from God. When we rely on our own broken cisterns, we turn to things that are fundamentally flawed and cannot last.
The act of forsaking God for broken cisterns is a choice that leads to a useless search for satisfaction and eventual bondage because these self-made sources inevitably fail.
Surfing as a Spiritual Picture
My wife and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary in June, and I’ve been surfing fourteen years longer than that. During this entire period, I’ve never been very good. But anyone who has done it long enough will tell you that it is a journey like nothing else. I would never claim that it’s better than marriage or having children because it’s not. It’s profoundly different and profoundly addictive. You’re merging with something God created that changes form, angle, and speed every second. No two waves are exactly the same. Amazingly, we are invited to be part of this encounter, and we are never the same from it.
Just like the ocean, natural living water looks different every day. It moves and changes constantly, reflecting the conditions around it, and remains alive as long as its source provides. But God’s living water has no beginning or end. It always was, always is, and always will be. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the eternal source that never runs dry.
“Who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.”
Psalm 65:7–8
King David’s psalm, also a stark reality check, paints an accurate picture of who God is and what He reigns over. God and Jesus, God in another form, both stunned their followers by stilling storms. “Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion,” was a central point in David’s message. God was there before us, will last after us, and is beside us.
I’ve surfed in angry, tumultuous waters, sometimes during lightning strikes and in water so cold it turned to slush on the beach. I’ve encountered fear unlike anything else in my life in the jaws of fast-moving, post-hurricane waves. And I’ve always come back for more because God’s power brings peace to a chaotic world. He silences the roaring seas and stills the turmoil of nations, revealing His sovereign control over both nature and humanity. In Psalm 65, David urges praise from everyone on earth, especially from those who stand in awe of His wonders, recognizing that His presence turns the dawn and the evening into songs of joy.
“You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.”
Psalm 65:9–10
David’s verses celebrate the God who waters the earth and brings life wherever His streams flow. He sends rain to soften the soil, fills the furrows with abundance, and blesses the ground until it yields fruit. These verses remind us that God is not only the giver of rain but the source of all life itself.
His living water refreshes with hydration. His spiritual water enriches and sustains the soul with His presence. The same God who nourishes fields and valleys is the living water who satisfies every human heart. Without Him, the ground stays dry and the soul remains drought-stricken, but where He flows, life flourishes.
The God of Living Water
You’ve probably heard it said more than once that God is love. Yes, He is. He is also the God of living water. What does that mean?
In The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, a young girl named Jill Pole finds herself lost, exhausted, and dying of thirst. She comes upon a stream, but lying beside it is Aslan, the great Lion.
“Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion.
“I’m dying of thirst,” said Jill.
“Then drink,” said the Lion.
Terrified, Jill asks if she might find another stream.
“There is no other stream,” said the Lion, representing Jesus Christ Himself.
“Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water… Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”
John 4:10–14
“And I’m never gonna care ’bout my bad reputation, oh no, not me, oh no, not me,” said Joan Jett and the woman at the well. Trapped by her sin, she might have preferred to stay spiritually and emotionally thirsty for the rest of her life rather than engage with, let alone draw water for, this Jewish man in public. But Jesus confronted her with truth, directness, and love. He knew what He was doing by meeting her at a very public spot in the middle of the day.
When Jesus speaks of living water, He is offering something far deeper than physical refreshment. He is inviting us into a life of spiritual fullness. Unlike ordinary water, which satisfies for a moment, the living water He offers transforms into a source of eternal satisfaction. Living water doesn’t just symbolize; it is the eternal life and inner renewal that only the Holy Spirit can give.
He tells the Samaritan woman that if she knew who He was, she would ask Him for living water. He explains that the water He gives is unlike ordinary water that satisfies for a moment, but is a divine gift that becomes a spring within, continually refreshing and giving life. This living water represents the eternal life and presence of the Holy Spirit, bringing lasting fulfillment and joy that flow from a heart transformed by Him.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23
The testimonies in my devotionals have covered the best of times and the worst of times. Topics that ranged from ultimate praise and jubilation to literal trials: alcoholism, sexual assault, betrayal, loneliness, and threats of death. We are all covered with dirt. When surfing God’s pure living waters, we are lifted up, cleansed, and renewed, made right with Him through Christ.
“Remember that, in terms of our standing before God, we are as unclean as this Samaritan woman was. And we have no hope but the cleansing waters of God’s grace. You’re the Samaritan woman. I’m the Samaritan woman. But God has met us by His grace!”
Paul Tripp
Life Application
We often look to temporary things to satisfy our thirst, but only Jesus offers living water that truly fulfills. I encourage you to turn to Him each day so that His Spirit may renew you with lasting peace and purpose.
Coming Soon
Surfing the Living Waters will soon be available in book form with 365 different devotionals, drawn largely from these conversations and more. It will be released in about eight to ten weeks. Proceeds from the book will help build the Transformation Bible Ministry. Stay tuned!
To download Dr. David Silver’s Revelation Study Guide, click below:
https://transformationbibleministries.org/revelation-study-guide/