An Overflow Of the Heart

This verse has been my prayer over our school for many years—and it continues to shape my heart. Over the past year, as God has impressed the biblical concept of overflow on me, He brought it to mind again as I reflected on what is truly vital for life. I am eager to share this with our students and with you, our parents and community, so that we can live it out together.

When we ask God to fill us with joy and peace, we are asking Him to fill our hearts—our innermost being, the “command center” of our lives. Scripture tells us, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23), and “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

God uses the concept of water throughout His word to give us a vivid picture of His truth. It makes up most of our bodies and sustains every system of life. Without it, we cannot survive. Research has even shown that being near water can lift our spirits. God designed our souls to worship Him and thirst for Him. Yet so often we look for substitutes—the “sodas” of this world—that never truly satisfy. By grace, God provides the true source of life, Jesus Christ, our Living Water.

Typically, we think of Jesus’ words in the book of John when we ponder “living water,” but my pastor recently took me back to Exodus 17, when God told Moses to strike a rock in the wilderness to quench the Israelites’ thirst. Paul reminds us, referencing Exodus, that Christ the Rock was struck for us (1 Corinthians 10:4).

Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “Whoever drinks of the water I give will never be thirsty again … it will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Through receiving Jesus—trusting and embracing Him as our Savior—we receive salvation and eternal life, a spring welling up within us.

Jesus also promised more: “Whoever believes in me … out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). John explains that He was speaking of the Holy Spirit in verse 39. The concept of a river helps us understand that this is the Holy Spirit’s work in and through us, enabling us to take the message of eternal life to others. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to overflow!

Christ the Rock was struck for us, and by His Spirit we can overflow. May His living water well up within us and flow through us, filling our community with joy, peace, and hope.