Throw that bucket in again

Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salvation. And as you do it, you’ll say, “Give thanks to God. Call out his name. Ask him anything! Shout to the nations, tell them what he’s done, spread the news of his great reputation! (Isaiah 12:4)

Buckets pulled from the well of salvation? We don't think about where our 'refreshment' comes from sometimes - buckets of grace drawn from the deep wells of salvation are true refreshment to our souls. What is your main 'wellspring'? Honestly consider that question, my friends, for the wellspring we draw from the most frequently becomes that which either deeply refreshes or sadly disappoints. There can be 'tainted' wells from which we draw 'inspiration' for some of the foulest of actions we can imagine. There can also be life-giving wells where we draw in the deepest of refreshment. Both require us to draw from them - we aren't hooked up to them with an 'auto on/off' spigot. We must put down the bucket and draw from the well - whether we draw from the tainted or the good is our choice.

Look at how one draws from the wells of salvation - with pure joy. We find the greatest fulfillment (or perhaps the fullest of buckets) when we draw from the wells of grace. I never really had a well that I had to lower a bucket into and draw up water, but I have seen them. The water is found deep beneath the earth, the deeper the better the water. Thinking upon that idea for a moment, consider the 'depth' of the well from which you have been drawing from lately. It could be a quite shallow well - yielding some form of 'refreshment', but is it as 'thirst quenching' and 'pure' as the deepest well of his grace and love? Not likely. There is something that satisfies, but it isn't as pure as his deeply-drawn grace!

I live in a major metropolitan area, so our water is run through all kinds of chemical treatments before it reaches our tap. The water is 'hard' and needs to be filtered in order to get rid of some of the foulness of the taste those chemical add. The 'water' of God's grace needs nothing added to it - it runs pure and sweet right from the source - his heart. If you have ever tasted 'unfiltered' spring water, you know how cool and sweet it is. It refreshes without anything added to it - because it is so pure. God's grace is pure - nothing we do adds to it and it needs no 'filters' because it comes from the purest source. 

As we draw from his wells of grace, we find our souls begin to cry out for more. Why? Grace has an 'addictive' effect! We want more because there is nothing that satisfies us as deeply as his grace! We find our souls 'refreshed' - made new, transformed, and brought to life again. We find our spirits set on fire - not because his waters of grace put out our fire, but because the wash away all the things that get in the way of his fires burning within us. We find our bodies transformed because the very make up of our bodies if mostly water. As much as we need water for our bodies, there is equally as much need for his 'grace-filled buckets' filling us over and over again. Just sayin!