Have you ever been disappointed or disillusioned? You saw something that looked so good, you wanted it intensely and could think of nothing else. The things that you did have, now seemed so ordinary and boring and you were sure you needed to “move on”. Then, when you finally possessed or experienced it, it turned out to be so different than you had anticipated. Like a cheap toy won in a carnival game, the object of your desire turns out to be of very little value with no lasting satisfaction.
This happens everyday. People pursue money and find that there is never enough. Others chase a sexual experience or new “relationship” only to end up empty and alone looking at the destruction they have caused to others. Some pursue positions of power and authority only to find that the weight of responsibility is more than they can handle. There are those who pursue comfort at every turn to find out that they have missed the benefits of hard work. Have you noticed how many “celebrities” spend a lifetime chasing the spotlight and then find that what they now want most is privacy?
We see these mirages all around us. Something appeals to our desires and catches our attention but after chasing it we discover that it was never real. Like someone lost in a desert, when it gets hot enough and we are tired and thirsty enough, our eyes will play tricks on us and we will “see” something that isn’t there.
The people of Israel fell into this trap. They were facing threats from other nations. Instead of turning to the true and living God who had done so much for them, they decided to look to Egypt for help. Egypt. The empire that had enslaved them for so long. The place from which God had rescued them. They would rather call out to Egypt for what Isaiah calls shade (relief, protection, security) than lean on God and go to Him for relief and rescue. Instead of walking so closely with their God that they were in His shadow, they looked across the desert and saw the shiny weapons of Egypt’s army and thought “now that looks like the help we could use!”
In Jeremiah chapter 2:12-13, God called the heavens to look closely and bear witness to this horrifying choice. He declared that His people had committed two sins. The first was their rejection of Him. After all the mercy and grace repeatedly extended to them, they walked away. “They have forsaken me, the spring of living water” God said. He was the source of all they needed yet they walked away chasing something that seemed more tangible, something that seemed more impressive.
The second sin was to dig for themselves cisterns in the desert. Broken cisterns, unable to hold water. Can you picture it? It was as if they were walking through the desert and turned their back on the best possible well. Instead, they picked up shovels and began to dig in the sand. Pretty soon they looked like a bunch of prairie dogs surrounded by holes in the ground, yet they now had no water. God called them to “consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of me” (Jeremiah 2:19).
As you go through the stages and challenges of life, mirages will continue to appear. Attractive things that will entice you to pursue them. Giving in to these illusions and chasing after them will leave you standing beside empty holes in the sand, with hands blistered from your digging and throats still parched in desperate need of living water. Meanwhile, the spring of living water, the source of all you will ever need is standing right there waiting for you to turn back to Him and receive what only He can give.
If you would like to talk about this living water, if you have questions, or if there’s something you would like us to be praying about, contact us at Harrow Baptist. We would love the opportunity to connect with you and help you put down your shovel.