Recently it became more widely known around our town that a huge aquifer lay right underneath us. This meant that the town and surrounding area were situated over a pure water supply, held in the porous rock and gravel underground. It was interesting to see how this news affected people. It gave many a feeling of confidence, security, and abundance. You could see this in their eyes and in their joy when talking about it. What a sense of good came from knowing of this seemingly endless supply of fresh water right under our feet!
And not only is this water available to all (by tapping into it when needed); in several places it just bursts forth, gushing from the earth in clear and refreshing springs. An unseen pressure drives it to the surface so that it's visible and can be put to use.
These observations made it a lot easier for me to see why the Bible passages that speak of well-springs, fountains, wells, living waters, and water-springs have such an uplifting effect on us when we read them. It also caused me to reflect on the distinction between water available to be tapped into, and water springing forth as the result of an unseen, uplifting pressure—a wellspring announcing its own availability. Perhaps it was the sight of such a spring that led the Bible author of Ezekiel to write a wonderful description of this phenomenon as a vision of healing water. See Ezek. 47:1-12. In fact, one edition of the King James Version of the Bible labels this chapter "healing waters."
