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Broken Cisterns and Living Water: Choosing the True Source

  • Writer: John D McLaughlin
    John D McLaughlin
  • 3 days ago
  • 3 min read
Desert landscape with dry, cracked ground symbolizing spiritual thirst.

Thirst in a Dry Land


We all know what it feels like to be thirsty. That desperate craving for water makes everything else fade into the background until it’s satisfied. Scripture often uses water as a metaphor for what only God can give: His Spirit, His Word, His presence.


But in Jeremiah 2:13, God says His people made a tragic exchange:


“They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”


This isn’t just ancient history. It’s our story too. And it’s the story I see reflected in fascia and the body.



What Are Broken Cisterns?


Ancient cracked cistern carved into stone, showing dryness and inability to hold water.

In the ancient world, cisterns were carved pits designed to hold rainwater. They were backup supplies—never as fresh or reliable as a spring, but useful when necessary. But a cracked cistern? That’s useless. It leaks. It promises refreshment but delivers nothing.


God called Himself the fountain of living waters—a fresh, ever-flowing spring. To trade that for a broken cistern is insanity. Yet that’s what Israel did. They abandoned the God who saved them for false gods, empty rituals, and lifeless idols.


Today, our broken cisterns look different:


  • Spirituality without Christ.

  • Self-help that never helps.

  • Healing practices that soothe but don’t save.

  • Entertainment that distracts but doesn’t satisfy.



Fascia, Water, and Flow


Fascia is highly water-dependent. Healthy fascia is hydrated fascia—it glides, cushions, and connects. Restricted fascia becomes dry and brittle, cutting off flow and creating pain.


This is the same picture God gave through Jeremiah. Without living water, our spiritual “fascia” dries out. We stiffen in our sin, we ache under false promises, and we fracture in our disconnection.


Reflection Question: Where are you drinking from cracked cisterns instead of the fountain of living water?



Jesus, the True Fountain


In John 4, Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well. She had tried to quench her thirst through relationships, but her soul remained parched. Jesus told her:


“Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)


This is the reversal of Jeremiah 2. Where Israel rejected living water, Jesus offers it again. Not just to the righteous, but to the thirsty. Not just to the whole, but to the broken.



The Counterfeit Springs


We live in an age of counterfeit fountains. From New Age “energy” work to prosperity gospels that trade truth for gain, the options are endless. But they all leak. They cannot hold water.


In body terms, it’s like misting the skin when the fascia underneath is bone-dry. It feels good for a moment but doesn’t change the condition. Only deep, living hydration restores. Likewise, only the Spirit of God satisfies our thirst.



Application for Body and Spirit


  • Faith Practice: Read Isaiah 55:1–3. Pray: “Lord, help me forsake broken cisterns and drink deeply from You alone.”

  • Body Practice: After drinking a glass of water, pause and thank Jesus, the Living Water. Let hydration become worship.

  • Reflection Question: Where am I settling for leaks instead of living streams?



The Choice Before Us


Every day, we choose where to drink. From cracked cisterns or from Christ. From empty promises or from the Living God.


Friend, the fountain is open. Jesus offers Himself freely. Come, drink, and never thirst again.



Continue with my “Broken Cisterns” YouTube playlist here.

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