Thursday, January 14, 2010
Sitting By A Well
It is no secret to those who know me that I love the ocean. The water has such a soothing sound.
The pool during the summer months brings such a welcome retreat from the heat.
The hot tub is a relaxing, therapeutic haven for sore muscles in it's swirling awesomeness.
A cool drink of water. A pot of water for coffee. Sweet tea, the drink of the south.
A shower or bath. Brushing your teeth or washing your face.
Laundry. Dishes.
Watering plants. Mopping the floor.
As you read this, how many times today have you already used water?
Clean water. Safe water.
Did you think about your clean, safe water as you used it today?
I have thought about it constantly.
You see my son is in Haiti. (see yesterday's blog)
Yesterday, sitting in the middle of a totally destroyed mission compound, they still had a well with clean, safe water.
This morning, due to aftershock on top of aftershock, the well is compromised.
No more safe water. What does that mean?
Dehydration, dysentary, loss of the ability to fight disease, to even get clean.
My son said to his wife in a very precious one time only conversation this morning " Man do I stink!"
This changes his situation dramatically. Water. Who would have thought that water could change your life so instantaneously?
Jesus did. Listen in on a conversation He had with a woman;
John 4:6-15 Jesus sat down by the well because he was tired from traveling. The time was about six o'clock in the evening.
A Samaritan woman went to get some water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink of water."
(His disciples had gone into the city to buy some food.) The Samaritan woman asked him, "How can a Jewish man like you ask a Samaritan woman like me for a drink of water?" (Jews, of course, don't associate with Samaritans.) Jesus replied to her, "If you only knew what God's gift is and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him for a drink. He would have given you living water."
The woman said to him, "Sir, you don't have anything to use to get water, and the well is deep. So where are you going to get this living water?
You're not more important than our ancestor Jacob, are you? He gave us this well. He and his sons and his animals drank water from it."
Jesus answered her, "Everyone who drinks this water will become thirsty again.
But those who drink the water that I will give them will never become thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give them will become in them a spring that gushes up to eternal life." The woman told Jesus, "Sir, give me this water! Then I won't get thirsty or have to come here to get water."
Jesus knew water could make a difference in everyone's life. He alone is the living water we can draw. We can be sustained. Our lives overflowing with Him.
So today, this is what I know:
The well in Haiti is compromised. Jesus is sitting there. He is offering my son, his mission team, and every Haitian family there, "the living water". Clean water or not, the "the living water" is there and flowing abundantly.
Every time I turn on a faucet today, I will not just see water that sustains and cleans the physical life we have. I will pray to the One who is the "the living water". He will sustain me today and beyond today. I will claim the promise,
John 7:38 As Scripture says, 'Streams of living water will flow from deep within the person who believes in me.'"
As I was writing this morning, one of my prayer warrior friend's FaceBook updates said something that touched my heart. I hope you are as inspired as I was:
Sandy wrote:
We are praying for all of you. God put on my heart while I was in the 'shower' to have a water fast today so I can keep Billy and the people in Haiti in my prayers. I have to start over, (again), I have unconsciously used the water twice already today after my shower. Love to all the Johnson family! PS I have never done this before --
Water for the living. Required by the living. Will you partake?
Chasing Their Hearts,
Glenda Johnson
womanaftergod@gmail.com
http://www.twitter.com/GlendaJohnson63
http://www.facebook.com/BibleBowlGlenda
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Dear Glenda,
ReplyDeleteYour writings are beautiful; but I don’t deserve the title ‘prayer warrior’, though I desire to be one. This water fast is the hardest thing I have done next to taking a five or ten minute prayer spot on the list when we were praying for Chelsea and it’s only 3 in the afternoon. I'll continue to keep you and your family in my prayers.
Love,
Sandy