Wedding Psalms: Devotional 2
- Corbin York
- Mar 20
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 9
Written by Aaron York, Dr. Kate Hartman, Corbin York
Part 1: Draw Near, Be Satisfied
Stories
Song
Have you, or someone you know, ever been so dehydrated that you were on the verge of heatstroke—only to realize later how deadly it can be? Life can come down to seconds, inches, or even ounces of water. People often say, “If I only knew then what I know now,” after realizing how close they came to catastrophe. Water is crucial for survival, particularly in extreme heat or arid climates. Without it, life cannot be sustained.
God has always invited us to drink deeply from Him, the well of salvation. King David wrote, “My soul thirsts for You like a dry and weary land where there is no water” [1]. Watching a barren land burst into bloom after rainfall is a natural picture of a deeper spiritual truth—water brings life. Yet even today, 650 million people lack access to clean water, and one child dies every two minutes due to waterborne illnesses. Water is essential for life.
Much of the biblical landscape is set in a dry, arid Mediterranean climate dependent on wells, springs, and rain. God uses this imagery to reflect our spiritual condition—without Him, we are parched. In John 4, a Samaritan woman draws water from a well dug by Jacob nearly 2,000 years earlier. Her homeland, Samaria, had been the capital of Israel’s northern tribes after their division from Judah in 975 BC.
For nearly a millennium, these estranged family members had been torn apart by politics, religion, and ethnic strife. Wars, betrayals, and bitter hatred left wounds only God could heal. The prophets foretold judgment upon Samaria and its restoration—setting the stage for Jesus’ encounter with this woman.
Jesus—Yeshua, meaning “God is Salvation”—was led by the Spirit to Samaria for a divine purpose. Earlier in His ministry, He instructed His disciples to go only to Israel’s lost sheep [2], yet here He reaches across the ancient divide. The Samaritan woman, weighed down by sin and broken relationships, comes seeking water from a man-made well that could never truly satisfy. But standing before her is the seventh man in her life—symbolizing completion and divine perfection—the One who offers Living Water. The One who is the Love that quenches the soul’s desperate thirst.
“If you only knew...” Jesus says.
“If you only knew who I am, you would ask Me, and I would give you water that becomes a wellspring of eternal life.” [3]
Though 650 million people lack access to clean water today, even more lacked access to the true spiritual water when Jesus spoke these words. Our souls were made for God; only He can quench our deepest thirst. Yet, we seek fulfillment in broken cisterns—idols that cannot satisfy. But today, God invites us to exchange them for the Living Water He freely gives.
Jesus invites us to drink deeply of His perfect love. Just as God healed the divisions between Israel and Judah, He longs to restore our fractured hearts, families, and even to heal church wounds. We, too, can be houses divided—at war with our past, yet trapped in cycles we cannot escape. But Jesus stands at the well, eyes filled to the brim with deeply satisfying love, offering a better way.
Will you draw near today and drink?
Jesus purchased your access to draw near. Will you drink deeply of Jesus’ love?
Will you let Him heal, restore, and transform you, and your city through your testimony? Come, not to Jacob’s well, but to the well of Yeshua—Salvation Himself.
Reflection Questions
Knowing that God wants to satisfy the thirst in your soul, where do you feel spiritually parched?
What is God revealing about other ‘wells’ you have been drinking from that leave you unsatisfied?
What is the Lord speaking to your soul about His perfectly satisfying love?
What do you need to change to draw near to Jesus as the well of Salvation?
Who do you need to share this testimony with, like the women recorded in John 4?
What areas of your history does God want to heal in your heart, household, family, or community based on John 4?
Scriptures for Meditation:
“In that day the heir to David's throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.” — Isaiah 11:10 NLT
“Then at last the jealousy between Israel and Judah will end. They will not be rivals anymore.” — Isaiah 11:13 NLT
“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” — Isaiah 12:3 ESV
Part 2: Green Pastures, Still Waters, Undeserved Delight
Take a Moment
Take a moment to respond: draw near to Jesus and be satisfied.
"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." [4]
When we habitually submit to the Lord, we train our hearts to recognize He is always good. Our intimate time with Him in secret places teaches us to sense His presence in public spaces. Scripture encourages, "Be still, and know that I am God…" yet our culture conditions us for constant motion, making it a challenge to be still and quiet before the Lord. Those led by the Spirit of God are children of God [5]. But if busyness keeps us from sitting humbly at His feet, we will never learn what it means to be seated with the Lord in glory [6].
Before He went to the cross, Jesus prayed [7] that we would be with Him where He is. He prayed that we would behold the glory He had with the Father before the world began.
The enemy knows that if he can keep us busy, anxious, distracted, and discouraged—diverted from the “one thing” that is necessary [8]—then the power of His Spirit within us will be hindered; our impact will be small. The enemy seeks to keep the veil of flesh over the Spirit’s glory within us [9]. The first step in removing this veil is to turn to the Lord [10]. This requires stopping, looking, and listening. We must take our thoughts captive, still our emotions, and listen quietly at the feet of the Lord.
Jesus spent thirty years in intimate fellowship with the Father—hidden, in the secret place—honing His ability to hear [11] and obey before beginning the three and a half years of His public ministry. That’s a 10:1 ratio of private to public training. If we desire increased impact, we must prioritize time in the secret place. We must dedicate ourselves to developing intimacy with the Lord. This is the pattern of Jesus.
Sitting humbly before the Lord allows His grace to divinely empower & influence our hearts. As we become intentionally dependent on the Lord, like little children relying on their parents, we stop leaning on human understanding and ability. His Spirit perfects grace and strength in us. His power overwhelms our weakness [12].
Jesus did not promise an easy life, but an easy yoke [13]. Jesus guaranteed His presence [14]. No matter the season of life, He is always with us [15].
Practice increasing your awareness of His presence in public by intentionally quieting yourself before Him in private. Dare to frequent the secret place, to fellowship intimately with the Lord. God knows the thoughts and intentions of the heart [16]; words are not necessary for communion with Him. Sit or lie down before Him in silence. Breathe. Be still. Being with Him in stillness is doing something.
The average American spends six minutes daily on spiritual exercises. Yet they dedicate 26 times that amount—two hours and forty minutes—to watching TV. Try turning off the TV, fleeing the counterfeit rest that seeks your time and attention. Turn your mind, will, and emotions toward the Lord in silence. Rest quietly in His presence. Let Him come to you as He chooses, let Him deeply water and satisfy you. His presence will minister life and peace to your soul and healing to your body. Our culture is addicted to activity, but don’t confuse that with productivity.
In God’s Kingdom, being intimate with the King is the one necessary thing, and the experiential knowledge of God is the most concise definition of eternal life [17].
Reflection Questions:
How are you obeying Psalm 46:10 - “being still and knowing God?”
How can quiet stillness empower your intimacy with the Lord?
What is the Lord inviting you into through sitting at His feet? (Luke 10:42)
What is the enemy trying to steal, kill, and destroy through the constant activities that bombard you? (John 10:10).
What needs to change to make time before the Lord in silence a habit?
Footnotes:
[1] Psalm 63:1 (ESV), "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water."
[2] Matthew 10:6 (ESV), "But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
[3] John 4:10 (ESV), "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.'"
[4] Psalm 23:1 (ESV), "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."
[5] Romans 8:14 (ESV), "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."
[6] Ephesians 2:6 (ESV), "And raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."
[7] John 17:5 (ESV), "And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed."
[8] Luke 10:42 (ESV), "But one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."
[9] 2 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV), "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
[10] 2 Corinthians 3:16-17 (ESV), "But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
[11] Isaiah 50:4 (ESV), "The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught."
[12] 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV), "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
[13] Matthew 11:30 (ESV), "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
[14] Matthew 28:20 (ESV), "Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
[15] Psalm 37:25 (ESV), "I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread."
[16] Hebrews 4:12 (ESV), "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
[17] John 17:3 (ESV), "And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
Wow ! This was so good such a beautiful picture and reminder of God’s unfailing love and grace toward us