The Well of Living Water

The Well of Living Water

I decided, one January, to take a few days to think about the year ahead; building a picture of things to work towards, sharpen my focus and clarify vision. I intended to spend time praying, reading my bible and using my devotional book as usual. In addition I planned to go for walks while I listened to sermons by inspiring preachers and take time to read a motivational book. I also wanted to keep an eye on what other people had written about the coming year on the Internet, scriptures and Facebook, etc. I aimed for a wide range of information to be at my disposal to get an overall picture of what God was saying through yesterday, today and for the future.

I was ready. I prayed a short prayer for God to guide me when soon after an image came into my mind. I recognised the picture to be of the Samaritan woman who was drawing water from a well as in John chapter 4:1-26 (If you are unfamiliar with the story, you can read it here for yourself or copy the link at the bottom of the page)

Her bucket at the ready the Samaritan woman was about to draw water which was her daily routine. That day Jesus sat on the stone surround beside the well. He talked to her and the words that stood out to me were, “If you knew who was talking to you, you would ask me for a drink.”

As I took a moment to ponder on this biblical setting, I saw myself in a similar situation that morning; ready with my own bucket in the shape of a notebook to draw from the well of information at my fingertips. I knew Jesus was sitting in the middle of my ‘spiritual collection’ asking me a question, “Do you realise I am here?”

By asking me, Jesus reminded me that the mixed bag of resources I was ready to delve into was meant as an aid to lead me to HIM; not to be used instead of being with Him. I realised, once again, how easily I can substitute spending time with Jesus with reading books and listening to other Christians about Him. Even reading and studying the bible can take the place of spending time with Him. (None of these things are wrong, but each has its right place.)

Our busy schedule makes it increasingly harder to find time to read, listen and pray. Avoiding added stress to our time, we get into a routine where we simply drop our bucket in the global, Christian information well and hope that something good and healthy will come up. We settle for a scripture, a song, ‘a word for the day’ and maybe even a sermon. Our spirit craves for something to help us survive the rest of the day, the week, leading to the end of the month and so the year. For some of us this is, at times, all we can do when life takes us through storms and difficult circumstances.

I increasingly enjoy putting the things aside that speak about Jesus and spend time with Him personally instead. Reading several inspirational Christian books or listening to a series of fitting sermons is good, however, it does not equal to meeting face to face with our Saviour. It may fill a hunger gap but only He can truly satisfy our soul and spirit.

I know what it is like to eat while I work. There have been times when I’ve been too busy to taste what I eat; as long as it filled me up I was happy. In a similar way, feeding others with our knowledge and lessons learnt through experiences can also become second nature to us. However, if we solely focus on the needs of others we are putting ourselves in second if not last place. What we may not notice is that while we give to others, our own source of life becomes dry. So it is important that we do not confuse our well of life with Jesus; 'The source of life'.

Think about this: When you first came to your Saviour, did you come to a scripture, a song or a sermon? No, you came to the person of Jesus Christ, the son of God. He is the source of life. Our first love. Out of Him flow rivers of living water. This He offers to us; from Him to us and through us. He is sitting by the well today, thirsty. Thirsty to spend time with you.

Let me encourage you to take time, to lay aside those things that make up your well of information and resources, and speak with Jesus. Worship Him and listen to Him. So that you not only become completely fed and satisfied but you also become a filler of the well of encouragement.




John 4 link: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+4&version=NIV ).