Life by the Well
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Psalm 40:4. "Blessed is the man who makes the Lord His trust." And God really had me camped out on the word "trust," and how in this case the writer wasn't talking about the emotion or feeling of trust placed in something or someone, but of the tangible attribute of God being our trust. Here's an excerpt from that post:
The one who is blessed is the one who has made the Lord his trust. This is different from simply stating that this man trusts the Lord. The phrasing here is trying to suggest a shape on this intangible emotion of trust. Instead of saying that he has put his trust of confidence in something, he is saying that his object of trust is the Lord Himself. I picture this as a well, from which the writer is drawing water to drink from. The well itself is the Lord, strong & secure, and its contents (the water) include His character, His promises, and His Word. It is a radical picture. He's not just trying to pour God's promises into his own well--which is itself weak and poisoned with sin, lending to what the next phrase of verse 4 warns against--and then trying to also draw them up with weakened arms to refresh his soul. No, he has instead left his own tarnished well behind and has run to the Source of all trust, all assurance, all provision.
...for the Lord God is my salvation & my song,
and He has become my salvation.
With JOY you will draw water from the wells of salvation...
Isaiah 12:2-3
With YOU is the fountain of life;
in Your light do we see light.
Psalm 36:9
As they make music they will sing,
"All my fountains are in you!"
Psalm 87:7 (NIV)
Tonight, God brought that to my mind again, that picture of a well from which we constantly need to draw & to drink from. He reminded me of how easily we stray from His well. We are constantly emptying ourselves into other things. School, activities, clubs, coffee dates, Bible studies, homework, etc, all vie for our attention. Sooner than we realize, we find ourselves empty. Tired. Unsatisfied. Longing. At first we don't suspect anything too, shall we say, sinful, because all these things seem good and seem to be just what God planned out for us to do. And those two things are usually true, and we shouldn't waste time doubting that. But there are two things we need to realize:
One: That nothing, nothing, nothing, and no one is more GOOD than God.
Two: That we can devote too much into the things/plans/commands of God than into our relationship with Him.
With these two truths, we must take a look at our priorities. Do I spend more time doing homework/studying/TV/working/etc than quiet time with God & His Word? Do I love the things God has given me than I love Him? As someone who has watched God strip me of everything I thought I knew, of every schedule and plan I thought I had, and "allured me into the wilderness," as Hosea said, I can firmly say that we need to loosen our grips on the things of God and learn to cling more and more to God Himself. We must learn to live our lives by the Well, realizing that proximity to God Himself is so much greater than anything He could ever give us. The fact that a way (the Way) has been provided to us to have fellowship with Him should overshadow everything else. So. Does it? Are we living life by the Well? Or do we find ourselves running back and forth between the Well and the Village?
I am reminded of the Samaritan woman. She was shunned by society. She felt she had only one chance to get away from it all, and that was found in taking a lonely walk at the hottest part of the day to the well to draw the water that she needed. It was there that Jesus met her, told her all she ever knew about herself and her life, and changed her forever. And not just her life, but her whole village. She ran back to tell everyone about this mysterious One whom she knew as her Messiah, and everyone came out behind her, back to the well where Jesus was, to see for themselves and, soon, believe for themselves.
In the same way, when we find ourselves lonely, strung out, and stretched thin, we often take that solemn, humbling walk back to the Well. We feel guilty, ashamed, like we've messed up and perhaps even strayed too far to ever be welcomed back. But we come anyway, with whatever shred of hope we can muster, and we are met by Jesus. Who says that we are His, and that in Him, guilt is gone, disbarred from His followers forever. Who says that He knows. He sees. He understands. He was human once too, dealing with the same frustrations and problems, yet He knew the secret of avoiding those pitfalls was to stay by the Well. To draw only from His Father. To remain hopeful in this fact: that we, His beloved forever & always, are being beckoned ... "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters" (Isaiah 55:1)! Constantly, faithfully, ever & always.
"Lord I find you in the seeking,
Lord I find You in the doubt,
and to know You is to love You,
and to know so little else,
I need You, oh how I need You.
Lord I find You in the morning,
Lord I seek You every day
Let my life be for Your glory,
woven in Your threads of grace,
I need You, oh how I need You.
Light, glorious light,
I will go where You shine,
break the dawn, crack the skies,
make the way bright before me.
in Your light, I will find all I need,
all I need is You.
Oh how I need you."
"Oh How I Need You"
All Sons & Daughters
(find it here)
The one who is blessed is the one who has made the Lord his trust. This is different from simply stating that this man trusts the Lord. The phrasing here is trying to suggest a shape on this intangible emotion of trust. Instead of saying that he has put his trust of confidence in something, he is saying that his object of trust is the Lord Himself. I picture this as a well, from which the writer is drawing water to drink from. The well itself is the Lord, strong & secure, and its contents (the water) include His character, His promises, and His Word. It is a radical picture. He's not just trying to pour God's promises into his own well--which is itself weak and poisoned with sin, lending to what the next phrase of verse 4 warns against--and then trying to also draw them up with weakened arms to refresh his soul. No, he has instead left his own tarnished well behind and has run to the Source of all trust, all assurance, all provision.
...for the Lord God is my salvation & my song,
and He has become my salvation.
With JOY you will draw water from the wells of salvation...
Isaiah 12:2-3
With YOU is the fountain of life;
in Your light do we see light.
Psalm 36:9
As they make music they will sing,
"All my fountains are in you!"
Psalm 87:7 (NIV)
Tonight, God brought that to my mind again, that picture of a well from which we constantly need to draw & to drink from. He reminded me of how easily we stray from His well. We are constantly emptying ourselves into other things. School, activities, clubs, coffee dates, Bible studies, homework, etc, all vie for our attention. Sooner than we realize, we find ourselves empty. Tired. Unsatisfied. Longing. At first we don't suspect anything too, shall we say, sinful, because all these things seem good and seem to be just what God planned out for us to do. And those two things are usually true, and we shouldn't waste time doubting that. But there are two things we need to realize:
One: That nothing, nothing, nothing, and no one is more GOOD than God.
Two: That we can devote too much into the things/plans/commands of God than into our relationship with Him.
With these two truths, we must take a look at our priorities. Do I spend more time doing homework/studying/TV/working/etc than quiet time with God & His Word? Do I love the things God has given me than I love Him? As someone who has watched God strip me of everything I thought I knew, of every schedule and plan I thought I had, and "allured me into the wilderness," as Hosea said, I can firmly say that we need to loosen our grips on the things of God and learn to cling more and more to God Himself. We must learn to live our lives by the Well, realizing that proximity to God Himself is so much greater than anything He could ever give us. The fact that a way (the Way) has been provided to us to have fellowship with Him should overshadow everything else. So. Does it? Are we living life by the Well? Or do we find ourselves running back and forth between the Well and the Village?
I am reminded of the Samaritan woman. She was shunned by society. She felt she had only one chance to get away from it all, and that was found in taking a lonely walk at the hottest part of the day to the well to draw the water that she needed. It was there that Jesus met her, told her all she ever knew about herself and her life, and changed her forever. And not just her life, but her whole village. She ran back to tell everyone about this mysterious One whom she knew as her Messiah, and everyone came out behind her, back to the well where Jesus was, to see for themselves and, soon, believe for themselves.
In the same way, when we find ourselves lonely, strung out, and stretched thin, we often take that solemn, humbling walk back to the Well. We feel guilty, ashamed, like we've messed up and perhaps even strayed too far to ever be welcomed back. But we come anyway, with whatever shred of hope we can muster, and we are met by Jesus. Who says that we are His, and that in Him, guilt is gone, disbarred from His followers forever. Who says that He knows. He sees. He understands. He was human once too, dealing with the same frustrations and problems, yet He knew the secret of avoiding those pitfalls was to stay by the Well. To draw only from His Father. To remain hopeful in this fact: that we, His beloved forever & always, are being beckoned ... "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters" (Isaiah 55:1)! Constantly, faithfully, ever & always.
"Lord I find you in the seeking,
Lord I find You in the doubt,
and to know You is to love You,
and to know so little else,
I need You, oh how I need You.
Lord I find You in the morning,
Lord I seek You every day
Let my life be for Your glory,
woven in Your threads of grace,
I need You, oh how I need You.
Light, glorious light,
I will go where You shine,
break the dawn, crack the skies,
make the way bright before me.
in Your light, I will find all I need,
all I need is You.
Oh how I need you."
"Oh How I Need You"
All Sons & Daughters
(find it here)
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