David Diga Hernandez - Holy Spirit: River of Life

The scripture says in John chapter 7, verse 38, «Anyone who believes in me may come and drink, for the Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'» When he said «living water,» he was speaking of the Spirit who would be given to everyone believing in him. The Holy Spirit is that river of life; the Holy Spirit is that flow from deep within that never runs dry. The Holy Spirit is refreshing; the Holy Spirit is life-giving. Wherever the river of the Holy Spirit flows, there is abundant growth and abundant life.

Now, we often find ourselves in seasons when we feel spiritually dry, and it’s easy to become discouraged in these times because we may look back and say, «Well, this doesn’t look like I’m growing spiritually.» It seems as though everything is going to be derailed—all the moments I spent in prayer, all the time I spent in the Word, and all the hard work I put into ministry; it’s all going out the window now. But that’s not the truth. You see, those seasons when you feel spiritually dry can actually become times of unprecedented spiritual growth.

Now I want to show you someone who found himself in a spiritually dry season. In Psalm chapter 42, we find King David in a place where he’s thirsting after the presence of God. While we should always desire the presence of God, the reality is that we don’t always seek him. Sometimes we become distracted or consumed by everyday life. God uses circumstances to cause us to yearn for his presence, even if he doesn’t send every circumstance. So when you begin to feel spiritually dry, you become spiritually thirsty, and that spiritual thirst drives you to seek God like never before.

Let’s read Psalm chapter 42, beginning at verse 1: «As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the Living God. When can I go and stand before him? Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, 'Where is this God of yours? ' My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be.»

Now, verse 4 holds such powerful truth. This means a lot to me because, if I’m being transparent, I find myself in seasons where I feel spiritually dry. You may say, «Even you, David Igor Hernandez?» Yes, I’m telling you I do. I’m being honest and open with you. Though I commit myself to prayer and the Word, sometimes life causes me to feel distant from God. Sometimes it makes me feel spiritually dry. Now, I don’t live my life based on those feelings, but I do allow them to inspire something in me.

However, ministry responsibilities begin to weigh on me. I have a full-time staff, and there is content that constantly needs to be produced for people who are hungry for the power of God. My wife often tells me, «You need to learn to say no to people more often,» because my phone is constantly ringing: from the moment I wake up, my text messages pile up, and it’s just not possible to get to everyone.

I’m not saying this to brag about myself or to make you think, «Oh wow, you must be very popular,» or «Hats off to you, you must be very busy.» Trust me, that’s not why I’m telling you this; I have no desire to be seen that way. I’m sharing this because I want to be honest and transparent. I wake up and see texts, and I know already at the start of the day that there’s no way I’m going to get to all of them. I’ll look at my email and realize there’s no way I can respond to them all today.

People pull on you, and the thing about being in the healing ministry is that most people contact you when they’re in their most desperate moments. So each email, each text, often concerns urgent matters, and I have to choose which urgent need to ignore for that day because there’s just no way to respond to everyone properly. Ministry pulls on you; people ask for help and advice. While it is my joy to help others, I must admit that sometimes I feel overwhelmed and wonder, «God, how am I supposed to manage this?» I have a wife and a daughter, and I want to make sure I’m investing time in them. In fact, spending time with them is one of my greatest joys in life.

My travel schedule keeps me busy; I rarely have time to settle in. I can’t tell you how often I’ve missed a birthday party, wedding, gathering, or family reunion simply because I was traveling or out of town or country. Yes, ministry responsibilities can weigh on you. Combine that with travel commitments and filming schedules. Our ministry now typically releases new content or more than one piece of content every single day on dozens of different platforms that reach a global audience.

So here we have ministry responsibilities, alongside the pull of people, friends, and family.