Invisible But Not Insignificant

On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (John 7:37–38)

Never think that because something is invisible it is therefore unimportant or weak. You may be surprised to know that the Bible talks a lot about air. The Old Testament calls it ruach. The New Testament calls it pneuma. We get the word pneumatic from the New Testament Greek word. The English Bible, however, doesn’t translate either one as air. Usually, it’s breath. “God breathed into man the breath of life.” Or it’s called wind. “Like a mighty wind.” Or it is translated spirit—as in the “spirit of man” or “the Holy Spirit.”

A number of synonyms are used for Spirit—words like helper, advocate, comforter, convicter, restrainer, exhorter, and reprover. He is portrayed by symbols, too, such as a dove, fire, wind, even water. In John 7 we read of this power being called “living water.”

Jesus is speaking:

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37–38 NASB 1995)

And in case you wonder what He made reference to, the next verse explains:

But this He spoke of in the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive. (7:39 NASB 1995)

He referred to the Spirit of God, the third member of the Trinity.

Let me paraphrase verse 38: “From the believer’s inner life there will be a reservoir of enormous, immeasurable power. It will gush forth. It will pour out like a torrential river that causes rapids, waterfalls, and endless movement to the ocean.” That’s the idea. It’s not a picture of some blasé, passive force. The Spirit of God is the dynamic of life. Like air, the Spirit may be invisible—but let us never be misled by equating invisible with impotent. This Spirit is vital to life.

We are so impressed with what we can touch and weigh and see that when it comes to something that is invisible, we pass it off. Christians all around the world need the reminder that the most powerful force in life is something we can’t even see . . . so powerful we are secured eternally until Christ comes, turning our destiny into reality, ushering us into eternity.

I call that powerful. And until that time, He is ready to work within us and move among us in revolutionary ways, transforming our lives. Don’t ever think that something is insignificant because it’s invisible.