The Eighth Day Cry — Empowered for the Hour!

John 7:37-39  On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39  Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 

Over the past two devotionals, we heard the song of the redeemed and stood at the wells of salvation. We saw how strength, song, and salvation flow from Yeshua Himself — how the joy of drawing from His presence is not just a poetic promise but a lifeline for our day. Yet today, we stand at a prophetic threshold. Something has shifted. Something has broken open. We are not only being refreshed — we are being awakened and called.

On October 7, 2023, the world changed. As Israel danced with the Torah on Simchat Torah, and the remnant celebrated the final outpouring of Sukkot on Hoshana Rabbah, war erupted. The enemy struck not only on a feast day — but on Shemini Atzeret, the eighth day, a day biblically symbolic of new beginnings, covenant consecration, and resurrection. Eight in Hebrew marks that which goes beyond the natural — into the realm of the supernatural. On this eighth day, while the people of God rejoiced around the Word, the heavens shook — and we must discern the hour.

This was not merely a geopolitical war. It was a prophetic turning. On the very day we traditionally cry out, “Hoshiana! Save now!” — a demonic backlash was unleashed. But as in ancient times, God is not surprised. He is not shaken. And neither can His people be. The same Messiah who cried out in the Temple on Hoshana Rabbah, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink!” (John 7:37), is still standing in our midst, calling us to draw from Him, not just for comfort, but for power.

This is not a time for passive devotion — it’s a time for Spirit-empowered purpose. The joy we draw from the wells of salvation is not merely for survival, but for assignment. The water that flows from the throne is meant to empower you — to stand, to speak, to shine. What has broken open in the natural must now break open in the Spirit. You were born for this moment — not to shrink back, but to rise up as one filled, overflowing, and ablaze with purpose. The eighth day cry is not just “thank You for what was,” but “Lord, empower me for what is now!”

Do not waste the moment. The shaking is not random. The eighth day is not just symbolic — it is prophetically strategic. You are not meant to walk in yesterday’s strength. Come again to the well. Drink again of the Spirit. Let the joy of salvation become the fire of boldness. Let the ancient cry of Hoshiana become your anthem — not just for rescue, but for release. You are being empowered for this hour. Now it’s time to rise, filled with living water, and become the vessel through which God births His purposes on the earth. Drink deep this weekend — your assignment awaits.

Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.

How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.

[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]

Persecution and serious trials were regular fare for the early followers of Messiah. Apostle Paul who was stoned and left for dead [Acts 14:19] was not exaggerating when he affirmed, "Through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom of God."

Throughout the history of the modern state of Israel, there have been accounts of angelic interventions protecting Israeli soldiers in the midst of intense warfare. One instance recounted by an Israeli military historian after the 1973 Yom Kippur war, describes an Israeli soldier in the Sinai taking captive an entire Egyptian column and leading them to where the Israeli troops were. The Egyptian commander was asked why he and his men gave themselves up to the lone Israeli soldier. He responded with surprise, ”One soldier? There were thousands of them.”

Our life, the life of faith, is pervaded by paradox. Life faces us with apparently irreconcilable conditions and realities that we struggle to understand and integrate, sometimes throughout an entire lifetime. The Lord himself exemplifies this reality in his dual identity as the expressed image of God and a fully human male who suffered the worst consequences of sin...without deserving them. We live daily within the paradox of God's perfect holiness and our fundamental human imperfection, constantly needing to accept His grace as we strive toward His perfection.

During 1941 the United States and Japan were in negotiations to resolve their difference as the rest of the world was at war. The special delegation of Japanese ambassadors, ostensibly sent on this “peace” mission, arrived shortly before the massive surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in which 2,403 Americans were killed, 1143 were wounded, eighteen ships were sunk or grounded, and 300 planes destroyed or damaged. President Franklin Roosevelt called it a “date which will live in infamy.”

The world these days is full of bad news, with tensions growing in the Middle East, economies on the brink of collapse, and nature constantly adding to the chaos with one disaster after another. It's a time of trouble all right, and for us believers it may sometimes be hard to believe – but it never is as bad as it seems. Let me illustrate with a joke I like to share with my messages.

When I’m dealing with what is beyond a normal, average trial, I need to muster a more militant attitude, and I remind myself of this promise; the Lord has given me authority to TREAD upon the enemy … to walk in His victory over every trial and tribulation that life brings.

Moses was used mightily by the Lord, yet we all know he had his inadequacies and limitations too. Still he was the vessel through which God chose to work through as He carried out the plagues over Egypt, divided the Red Sea and miraculously led and fed the children of Israel for forty years. That's pretty big stuff. Can you imagine having to be Moses' successor after all that? That's exactly what Joshua had to do. I can't even begin to imagine what Joshua was thinking at the time -- How can I possibly live up to Moses? But the Lord comforts and reassures Joshua and says, "as I was with Moses, so I will be with you!"