WELLS OF LIVING WATER
I was involved in a Bible group
for several years until it became spiritually corrupted. I knew I had to leave
it behind, but what to do next? At first, I felt at a bit of a loss, but after
a while, I recognized I’d been given a gift of free time to get closer in my
relationship with the Lord alone. I didn’t want to immediately jump into
another Bible organization, but rather, to explore my personal relationship
with God, through Bible reading and prayer. But I had a bit of a dilemma.
In 1 Corinthians 12:27-28 we’re
told: “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in
particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily
prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,
governments, diversities of tongues.” And Ephesians 4:25 tells us: “We are members one of
another.” So how was I going to stay away from another organized church denomination,
yet remain an active part of the body of Christ and continue to receive the living
water Jesus promised? And my journey began.
In Genesis 25, God shows us,
through the life of Isaac, a real-life way to take this life journey. In Genesis 25:11 He tells us Isaac was settled
near Beer-Lahairoi (“the well of the Living One who sees me”). He was there for
quite a while, raised his sons there, and had a good life. But then “there was
a famine in the land” (Gen. 26:1). And that was the beginning of his next
journey.
No matter where we are on our
spiritual journey, we all have felt the famine a time or two. It’s when we feel
we are lacking something necessary for the abundant life God promises us in the
Bible. We may feel we don’t know enough about healing; we don’t have the skills
to deliver people from demons; we don’t have the loving human relationships we
seek. We’ve all been there. When famine hit Isaac, he knew he had to move on.
He trusted God. He needed to find a new well for his life. One of the great keys
to walking by the Spirit is truly walking out on a limb in trusting God, and
not automatically going where others have gone.
When Isaac’s father, Abraham, found
himself in a famine, he went to Egypt, so Isaac would have thought to do the
same. But God told Isaac differently: “Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the
land which I shall tell thee of” (Gen. 26:2).
We have Holy Spirit in us, and
if we are willing to be led by God’s spirit, rather than our own will, He will
show us where to go physically, like with Isaac, or as in these days, traveling
the highways of the internet.
Isaac had a big need, but his
journey with God was different from Abraham’s. When you listen to different
Bible people on the internet, or you try out different church groups, the Holy
Spirit within you will resonate with some and not others. We need to test it out
as quickly as we can, so we don’t waste time with preachers and teachers that
are not part of our path right now.
God told Isaac to go to where
the Philistines were, in Gerar, which was North, the opposite direction from
Egypt. He went, and he prospered. “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received
in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed
great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had
possession of flocks, and possession of herds and great store of husbandry: and
the Philistines envied him: (Gen. 26:12-14).
Isaac prospered in Gerar, but
now he was met with another type of famine. The people around him were not
favorably responding to him anymore. It became time for him to move on. He had
a big need for water for all the people and animals who relied on him. He tried
to dig in the old wells, but “the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them
with earth” (v.15).
Then Isaac found what he
thought was a great well of water. “And Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and
found there a well of springing water” (v. 19). “Springing water” is “living
water.” Verse 20 says: “And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen,
saying, ‘The water is ours.’” Isaac had to keep moving.
This part of the story is
so amazing and pertinent. Isaac found living water, good water, and others said
it was theirs. He called the well, “Esek,” because there was contention there.
It wasn’t for him at this time. So, he kept looking. He dug another well, and
again, it wasn’t good for him. Then he dug another well, and the Philistines
finally let him be. It was good for the time being, but the journey continued.
Eventually, Isaac left the wells in Phillistine, and he went East to Beersheba
and dug a new well, where he stayed and prospered.
When we feel like we are in any
kind of spiritual famine, we need to keep moving until we find something that
truly resonates with our Spirit, something that feels totally right. We check
it out with God and test it. Then if it doesn’t really resonate in our heart,
and if it’s not giving us the living water we need, we mustbe willing to move
on.
One of the great things about
the story of Isaac and the Philistines is that after Isaac moved to his well in
Beersheba, the Philistines came to him.
“And Isaac said unto them,
‘Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me and have sent me away from you?’
And they said, ‘We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, ‘Let
there be now an oath betwixt us.’” (vv. 27-28). And he [Isaac] made then a
feast, and they did eat and drink” (v. 30).
Walking by the spirit of God is
a marvelous journey. Let’s be sensitive to where we are on the journey and
sensitive to the Lord’s urging to move on if need be. Let’s not criticize
others on their journey or doubt our own. Instead of getting mad or
disappointed with others who aren’t on our same journey, let’s let God play it
out and let’s be willing to feast with all the body of Christ in the end, (or
along the journey, any time we can.)
Our individual journeys may take
many turns, and like Isaac, we’re not afraid if a well dries up. We never quite
know where Jesus, who is the living water, will lead us. We trust and we
follow.
As a side note: Why do you
think we find so often in the Bible that our God is called “The father of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”? What is it with each of these men that God is
showing us? And it’s not just their genealogy.
Love, Carolyn
