Two-minute read.
Cisterns contain water, which refreshes the weary soul. On a mission trip to El Salvador, we visited a family home that had a cistern sitting in the courtyard area, filled with rainwater. Before drinking from it, they boiled the water to cleanse it. By doing so, they knew what the water contained and could use it as necessary.
When we drink from cisterns not our own, we have no idea what they contain and can open ourselves up to misery. Today’s verse, the cistern represents a man’s wife, the woman he delights in and satisfies his desires. Drinking from your own cistern means staying at home and enjoying life with the family instead of seeking pleasure in other ways.
According to statistics, infidelity occurs in half of marriages, men more likely to stray than women. As one pastor described it, when people drink from other cisterns, they destroy trust and cause a car crash. Adultery not only damages their relationship but also impacts everyone in their circle: children, friends, and extended family.
Marriage takes work. If we don’t boil the water in our own cistern and take the necessary steps to make it safe, we won’t experience the joy that comes from it. Straying to other cisterns doesn’t bring clean water; it just makes life more difficult and causes heartbreak.
Take the time to boil the water and create clean drinking water. Healthy marriages come from two partners willing to do whatever it takes to maintain a healthy relationship that produces good fruit. Fix the issues, and they go away. Ignore them, and they fester and eventually decay the marriage.
Joy comes from diligently nurturing your cistern and making it a desirable place to draw water. Experience the blessings of a well-tended water reservoir, and stay faithful to it.
Journal Question:
How does your spouse refresh you?
What does it mean to boil the water in your cistern?
What do you love most about your cistern?
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for Your provision of a spouse. Please help us do the necessary work to have a thriving marriage. Show us the way, direct our steps, and help us remain loyal to our cistern.
IJNIP. Amen
