Broken CisternsSample

BROKEN CISTERNS

Chapter 2: Our Effort to Find Fulfillment

"All that is not eternal is eternally useless." —C. S. Lewis

The desires were there. The heart was restless and the mind overwhelmed.

"If we don’t quench the thirst, the thirst will consume us," —we thought. We had to do something about it.

There is a Fountain where the water never stops flowing. We have relied on it for so long; we never knew thirst.

But we saw others.

We saw how, on their own, they dug holes, molded the shapes, smoothed the walls, applied the plaster, and gathered rainwater. They had their own cistern.

We didn't know how much it actually sustained them. But the idea of independence was enough to convince us to use the same system.

And that’s what we did.

At first, the plan seemed like a piece of cake. It wasn't until we realized that the depth of the cistern depends on how much we dig, the amount of water on how much rain falls, and its retention on how well our work holds up.

It's more about the time we invest, the money we lose, and the effort we put in than about how long the cistern lasts or how much it truly quenches thirst.

Now, we find ourselves tired, frustrated, embarrassed, and even thirstier than when we started.

Our only hope is to return to the Fountain we once relied on, but we fear it might reject us for having turned away.

So we keep digging.

———

Sounds familiar?

This is the story of Israel, but it's our story too.

As we go through the world, we see others. Whether through social media or in real life, we see them living, seemingly, their best life.

Romance, wealth, fame, and more seem to promise fulfillment, and we throw ourselves into working hard to reach them.

We grow accustomed to living under a social order that tells us: do, do, do—and the more we do, the more we'll become.

We base our fulfillment on what we do and what we strive to achieve. But in the end, it only leaves us frustrated, weary, and disappointed.

Solomon is one of those who can testify to this truth:

"I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11, NIV).

He built broken cisterns that could not hold water.

And indeed, this principle implies at least three things:

1. Digging → speaks to effort.
2. Digging cisterns → effort, yet limited by the very nature of the cistern.
3. Digging broken cisterns (that cannot hold water) → effort spent on something that is not only limited but also useless.

We've lived like this, and the world has promoted it. Yet today, Jesus offers a different way:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29, NIV).

The work for fulfillment has already been done by Him, and there’s nothing we can do to earn it.

The inexhaustible Fountain of Life is calling to all who are tired of trying to quench their thirst by their own effort; to those who, instead of being filled, have only emptied themselves; and to those who once drank from His Fountain but now beg for mere drops of rain.

Will you answer His invitation?

On the last day of this devotional, we’ll reflect on how to come to that Fountain—if, like Israel, you are afraid to return or still don’t know the Way. See you there.