Discerning “Broken Cisterns” in Your Life

“For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” -Jeremiah 2:13 

Five questions that help discern if I’ve turned to broken cisterns?

Please read prayerfully.

  1. What’s my prayer life like? Broken cisterns teach us to lean upon ourselves or upon that cistern instead of calling out to God. Prayer is the great measure of our dependence upon God.
  2. Is worship for me a Sunday thing, or a lifestyle thing? Broken cisterns lead us to compartmentalize our faith. They tell us that Worship is on Sundays, Quiet time is a 30 minute exercise, and that Prayer is a mealtime and bedtime event. These cisterns convince us that our faith has no place at school, on our Facebook page, at the workplace, in our homes. But drinking from the fountain of living waters can’t be compartmentalized. True worship is evident in all spheres of our lives.
  3. Does my money reflect one who truly fears God? Materialism is a deep and dangerous cistern because it tells us where and how to invest our money with the belief that these things will satisfy. Comb through your last bank statement and see how you’ve spent your money and what role the fear of the Lord had in your spending. 
  4. Do I see this life as a vapor? Am I mindful of the realities of heaven and hell? Broken cisterns lead us to invest in this life with no regard for eternity. They lead us to waste our lives as if heaven and hell were not real. Heaven is glorious. Hell is awful. And this life is temporary. Am I wasting my life?
  5. Am I in awe of God? Broken cisterns take our gaze off God and put them on themselves. We must ask, am I in awe of God’s wrath & hatred of sin? Am I in awe of God’s justice, which condemns sin? Am I in awe of God’s mercy in sending his Son? Am I in awe of how God caused his justice and mercy to sweetly kiss at the cross? Am I in awe of how God has drawn me to himself, given me Christ’s righteousness, and placed upon Christ my sin? Am I in awe of God?



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