Why Self-Reliance Will Always Runs Dry

“My people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!” Jeremiah 2:13 (NLT)

The sad reality is this: I live in a broken, fallen world—a world where sin and evil exist. And as a result, I live with unmet needs.

This is not a perfect place, so all my needs will not be met while I live on earth. I have unmet relational, physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual needs. I have a need to be known and understood and loved.

It’s understandable to want my needs to be met, but the last thing I should do is try to meet them my own way instead of trusting God. When I think I can meet my needs better than God can, it leads to broken hearts, broken dreams, broken bodies, and broken promises.

God said, “My people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!” (Jeremiah 2:13 NLT).  

A cistern is a hole dug into the ground to store water. In a well, you have water that’s coming up from the ground. But a cistern is not connected to a water source, so it has to be constantly filled with water. Over time the water leaks into the ground, and the cistern goes dry. It eventually runs out of water. It’s temporary. Also, because there’s no new water coming into the cistern, the water can become murky and polluted. 

God is saying that when I try to meet my needs in my own way, it’s like trying to keep fresh water in a cracked cistern. I will always run out of water in a cracked cistern—and I will always run out of power when I'm trying to meet my needs on my own.

In the book of John, Jesus refers to himself as Living Water. He said, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:38 NIV). God’s love and care for me and the power he gives me to live the Christian life are like a well that never runs dry. When I trust in him, he’ll take care of all my needs in the best way and at the right time. I will have everything I need.

So I shouldn't dig my own cistern that will always go dry. Instead, trust in the Living Water that never runs out!

In summary: 

This passage reminds me that in a broken world, I will always have unmet needs—relational, emotional, physical, or spiritual—but trying to meet them on my own only leaves me empty, like storing water in a cracked cistern that leaks dry. God warns that when I abandon Him, the true fountain of living water, and rely on my own ways, the results are temporary, polluted, and unsatisfying. Jesus, the Living Water, offers a never-ending source of love, strength, and provision. The wisest choice is to stop digging my own cisterns and instead trust fully in Him, who alone can meet my needs in the right way and at the right time.

Bottom line: 

Only God, the Living Water, can truly meet my needs—if I try to do it my own way, I’ll always end up empty.  My next wisest step is to pause and identify one “cracked cistern” in my life—one area where I've been trying to meet my own needs apart from God (maybe control, overworking, seeking approval, or numbing distractions). Write it down, and then intentionally surrender it in prayer, asking God to be my Living Water in that specific area.