A well dug well

Deep wells are necessary here in Arizona because anything near the surface actually dries up pretty quickly unless it is fed from a very deep and refreshing source. The tendency to water only the surface of our ground actually doesn't promote deeper root systems, but a more superficial rooting. The trees, shrubs, and grasses with only these superficial roots often don't make it for the long haul of summer because they have nothing to draw from when the intensity of heat comes. We want to have deep wells to draw from, as we will face many a circumstance in life that turns the heat up more than a little in our lives.

Knowing what is right is like deep water in the heart; a wise person draws from the well within.
(Proverbs 20:5)

There is a tendency to "over-think" things today. We "work" a solution until it is what some call "fool-proof" and then we might take the steps to put it into action. The problem is that none of us is really all that what we work is sometimes 'proof' we are still a little bit foolish. I find that I am more spontaneous than 'over-working' a solution at times - I like to try something before the idea has a chance to grow mold! Most of the time when I act quickly, I come out all right. There are more than a few occasions though where that spontaneity resulted in the occasional flop, supporting the idea that it wasn't a "fool-proof" plan.

There is a time for planning and I definitely know not every half-baked idea is a good one! I am no fool, although I act the fool on occasion. There is a well that lies deep within that we each can draw from when we need an immediate solution to a problem life deals us - but a well must be found before it can become our source. Whenever we take the steps to do exactly what God has reminded us to do in his Word, we are creating a deeper well to draw from. What are those steps? Glad you asked!

First, we must hide his word in our hearts. That is more than just memorizing chapter and verse. It is allowing the word of God to get deep into the core of our being - through study, meditation, and application of the word. When we need to call upon the lessons we have learned, they will be there as guiding influences. Then we must allow the Holy Spirit to take up residence in our lives. We are given the gift of the Holy Spirit at the point of our saying 'yes' to Jesus in our lives. There is a very distinctive act - a point in time - when we invite him to truly "fill us" to overflowing with his presence. At that point, there is a definite "infilling" of our lives with the power to live for Jesus.
We also must engage with the Holy Spirit to see the fruits produced within that only he has the power to bring forth. Fruit such as affection for others that stems from an attitude that is not simply focused on what WE can get out of the relationship, but is committed to being a blessing in the lives of others. The fruit of the Spirit is evidence of the work of Christ in our lives - evidence of a deep well.

When a believer allows these things to occur, there is a well of "wealth" to draw from when the time arises. We look upon that person and call him "wise" because his every action seems to be "well-planned". In fact, you are probably just witnessing the person living life with lots of "dips into the well" of faith. They have frequented the "well of life" (Jesus) and now they have a "reliable well" to draw from when life hands them challenging moments. Wells require some work, though. They must first be dug in a place where there is hope for the flow of water. That is why we "dig into" Jesus. Then they must be dug deep because the waters that come from deeper down are purer and much more refreshing. They must be accessed - no well serves its purpose if it is just there for "wishing"! Become a "well-digger" today - you will be amazed how many times you will "tap into" the refreshing, reviving, and rejuvenation of the "well of life". Just diggin!

Read the label

O True God, You are my God, the One whom I trust. I seek You with every fiber of my being. In this dry and weary land with no water in sight, my soul is dry and longs for You. My body aches for You, for Your presence.  (Psalm 63:1 VOICE)

Do you ever experience those "dry places" in your walk with Jesus? You know - the times it seems like you read the Bible, but you just don't seem to "hear" him talking to you through it; or you find yourself less than enthused with the sermon, mind wandering to the grocery list.  I think we all get a little "parched" once in a while from the "dry places" we walk through, but what does being "parched" do for us physically?  We look for relief, don't we? We seek refreshment - we want water! Could it be the "dry places" we all experience are really a precursor to something amazingly satisfying just around the corner?

Hunger and thirst create a sense of "yearning" in our souls - driving us to find the place where we will find refreshing.  We might not know what it will be that will bring that "ahhhhh...." kind of refreshing, but we know it when we take it in!  I have watched nature shows that speak of the inward pull of the animals on the arid desert lands finding even the smallest pockets of water on the dry desert floor.  It is as though they can "smell" the water - it draws them because their sense are heightened by their thirst. The same is true with each of us - we are drawn closer to Jesus because of the heightened sense of hunger or thirst we have within.  

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to "fill up" on something because it is easy or convenient?  We reach for the bottle of soda, cold and tingly as we consume it on a hot day, but does it really refresh for all that long?  Not usually - it leaves us "moderately" refreshed, but it isn't like good old fashioned water.  Yesterday, I really wanted a cup of coffee in the morning when I arrived at work. The pot was fresh, my BFF having made it just moments before my arrival, and my cup was at the ready.  As I poured creamer in and took that first big gulp, I was met with a strange taste - something I had been noticing with all the coffee over the past week or so whenever I took a cup.  I haven't said much, but I finally asked why it tasted kind of "weird".  Alas, to my surprise, someone had brought in a pumpkin spice creamer, exactly the same color bottle as my sugar free caramel machiatto creamer I usually use, and I had been putting that one in my cup instead of my usual!  No wonder it tasted odd!

There are a lot of "look alikes" out there promising some kind of fulfillment for us, but only one Jesus.  There are all kinds of places and things to run to when we think we are a little parched and in need of refreshing - but only one "well of living water" from which to draw!  Don't be fooled by the "package" - be sure you are reading the label!  Just sayin!

As the dawn's light trickles in...

We all have those moments where we wonder if God has anything "special" for us - as though just being the object of his heart's desire weren't enough!  Those moments usually come when we have seen someone else around us really take a huge step, get awesomely blessed beyond measure, or realize some fantastic outcome as a result of their course of action.  We just cannot help but think, "What about me, God?"  It is just "natural" for us to kind of zero in on the fact we aren't doing or feeling "something special" at that moment, so we get to thinking God might have forgotten us, moved on without us, or just plain doesn't have much in store for us.  There is nothing further from the truth!  God cannot forget us - we are the apple of his eye.  He doesn't move on without us - although he might move a little to tug at our heart to get moving in the direction he is heading, but he doesn't abandon us.  He doesn't have the same things in store for us as that one we are comparing ourselves to right now - but that doesn't mean he doesn't have something designed for each of us that is "specific" to our needs.

Your thoughts and plans are treasures to me, O God! I cherish each and every one of them!  How grand in scope! How many in number!  If I could count each one of them, they would be more than all the grains of sand on earth. Their number is inconceivable!  Even when I wake up, I am still near to You.  (Psalm 139:17-18 VOICE)

God's thoughts and plans are revealed in the words of scripture - placed specifically there to meet whatever need we may have today.  If you don't believe that, then just remember the last time you read a passage and it meant hardly nothing to you - like words on a page you could just read on through, but nothing really jumped off the page at you.  Then you are dealing with something in particular and that exact same passage is full of meaning - exactly what you needed, when you needed it!  Those are his thoughts, his plans, and his purpose revealed - when you need it, exactly as you need it, designed to accomplish specifically what you need at the moment.  Indeed, they are like the grains of sand which number the ocean shores - too great for us to count, beyond our fathoming, and constantly renewed with each passing wave!

Even the process of awakening in the morning is a process of discovery - for we recognize God has not left us, nor has he abandoned his purposes for us.  Each new day is a time of renewal - this is probably the greatest and most profound of all mysteries.  Think about it.  The air you breath each moment of each day is not the same air you took in with the last breath - if it were, it could not sustain your life for it would be depleted of the oxygen you need.  The movement of air and water current is even beyond our control - we can no more still the seas than we can create the human brain!  The shining of the sun, even through the darkest of clouds, is simply not in our control - yet it comes and goes each and every day, with consistency and purpose.  God is faithful in ways we cannot fathom - they are beyond our intellect, but appreciated by our heart and mind!

In the night hours, he doesn't draw away, but he might draw us closer to him by creating a sense of "distance" between us. Why does he doe this?  I think it might be to help us not get settled into a rut in our faith - but to continue to seek him a little closer, discovering the newness of his grace each new day.  In the stillness of the night, he gave us rest.  In the newness of dawn's light, he gives us the myriad of discoveries he has prepared for us while we slumbered.  Even as we slumbered, our bodies were being renewed.  Our minds were being cleared of all the turbulence of the day before and readied for the challenges we shall face today.  When we walk with God, each moment is a time of "coming into" what he has prepared for us well in advance of when we will "come into" whatever it is.  His mercies are new every day.  We may think his love actually grows toward us - his love really doesn't increase for us - because he loves us beyond measure already.  What changes is our appreciation of his love!  Just sayin!

Honesty opens doors to healing

Wise words come from people of understanding.  People of understanding are able to speak of a situation in a completely different manner because they grasp the meaning of the situation.  The fool just cannot get the same grasp on the circumstances of life - they might babble on a lot, but the things they speak really don't bring clarity, or shed much light on the matter.  A fool cannot size up the situation because a fool seldom learns from his past experiences.  As if to point out the difference between the fool and the wise, the writer of Proverbs pens these words:  The road to life is a disciplined life; ignore correction and you’re lost for good. (10:17 MSG)  In order to walk in the pathway of life, we must accept discipline (correction).  The fool has a hard time with this - so they repeat the mistakes they've made over and over again.  If we want to live "rich" lives, we need to embrace discipline - for discipline is the road to true "richness".

God's blessing makes life rich; nothing we do can improve on God. (Proverbs 10:22 MSG)

If you haven't guessed it by now, I think God really looks for people to be honest, not necessarily perfect.  I think we get this a little messed up on occasion - thinking God expects our perfection.  The fool has a hard time being honest - making an honest appraisal of his actions, openly admitting his failures, being transparent about where he struggles the most.  The wise find the means to growth to be this life of transparency.  Honest appraisal of where you are, what keeps you struggling, and what you find you have the least control over in your own life is the beginning of learning.  We cannot learn when we don't recognize our "ignorance".  Honesty is the doorway to wisdom.

I think there are some things God expects in his relationship with is kids - these aren't optional - they are the basis of good relationships.  These principles certainly apply to our relationship with Christ, but they also apply in each and every relationship we have in life.

- There is no room for hidden hatred.  When we bury our disdain, trying desperately to hide our loathing of a person or thing, we just bury it - it never really gets dealt with.  When we bury stuff, it leads to anger, bitterness, and division in relationships.  God knows we struggle with certain things - liking some things we would do well to turn our backs on and turning away from other things because they are just too hard to deal with or we just feel so repulsed by them.  When we refuse to bury the stuff which is too hard to deal with, we open ourselves up for the opportunity to learn what it will take to get past it.  When we will not accept constantly embracing the wrong stuff, we get to a place where we begin to desire different outcomes in our lives.  This is the value of honesty in relationship - it keeps the stuff above the surface, until it is dealt with in the manner which will resolve the conflict we feel in the first place.  When the conflict is settled - through honest and open discussion with the one who can resolve it - we all maintain health in our relationships.

- There is no room for slander.   Slander fosters further sin because loose lips really do sink ships (relation-ships).  Slander is any untruth which misrepresents the facts.  I think we have lots of this in relationships - even our relationship with God.  We don't want to be honest - because honest words can sometimes bite a little - so we tell the white lies.  Trust me, there are no white lies - a lie is a lie.  Anytime we settle for an untruth, we allow the facts to be distorted.  God is a God of the facts - he tells us like it is and he expects the same from us.  Since he knows the truth, we'd do well to just own up to the truth in the first place.  There is no need to cover up - slander just damages the reputation of the one who is being lied about.  When we lie about ourselves as we speak to God, we are only hurting ourselves.  If we make it a point to be open, above board with him, we will not engage in this dangerous habit of "masking" our reputation with lies.

- There is room for words which refresh and are reflective.  Sometimes we have no problem pointing out our faults to God, but we don't always allow him to speak back into our lives the words of refreshing he so eagerly desires to speak.  We can become too negative in our focus on occasion.  If we tend to go this route often enough, our tendency is to see our relationship with God as "never stacking up".  It is tough to have real freedom of sharing in a relationship where we always feel we have nothing to offer.  Words of reflection are like sweet honey - they pour over us, sticking to us, almost leaving a "residue" of having been touched by them.  This is how God works - he likes to leave little bits of himself in our lives after each encounter with is presence.  Words which refresh and are reflective are often his means of doing just this - so don't cut him off when he speaks - those words matter!

The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich and adds richness to the relationship - there is no room for sorrow or shame where there is a blessing. We need to remember the awesome potential we have in relationship with the one who loves us so deeply so as to bless us with each encounter.  Just sayin!

Look! Water from the rocks!

One of my favorite psalms is the 104th chapter.  In recounting the tremendous work of God in the creation and protection of all he made, we find an outline of the tremendous care God takes with each portion of his creation.  He is not content to just "make", then sit back and see what will become - he nurtures and sometimes "coaxes" until creation comes into its fullness with his tender care.  As I was driving on vacation in Tennessee this past week, one of the things which caught my eye was the water coming from deep inside the rocks on the side of the mountain.  This was not water cascading from the top of a mountain stream, but coming from deep within the rock - almost from the middle of the rock formation.  It brought to mind the passage below, when David pens the words, "You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns; earth is supplied with plenty of water."

You started the springs and rivers, sent them flowing among the hills.  All the wild animals now drink their fill, wild donkeys quench their thirst.  Along the riverbanks the birds build nests, ravens make their voices heard.  You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns; earth is supplied with plenty of water.  You make grass grow for the livestock, hay for the animals that plow the ground.  (Psalm 104:10-14 MSG)

As I made my way through the winding hillside drives in this tremendously green region of our country, I was blessed with the beauty of the wildflowers all bursting with color, the many kinds of trees displaying their radiant colors in the gentle breezes of the Tennessee foothills, and the amazing springs of water from almost nowhere.  The earth is certainly adorned well with God's handiwork!

There was something about that water which spoke the loudest to me, though.  I think it may have been the sheer impossibility of man to have made something so beautiful and refreshing.  Try as we might, we can only put what God has made through a process to get it even close to what comes forth from one of these deep springs of water.  I am amazed we even try to expend the effort to do what God can do with such care!  

Yet, the inability of man is always countered with the tremendous ability of our great God.  Where man sees hardness and a lack of life, God has a way of coaxing something which not only flows, but is refreshing in all it touches.  I guess this is really why the springs spoke so loudly to me - they are coaxed by God's hand and not by some human effort.  There is something awe-inspiring about the amount of attention God gives to each detail in our lives which needs a little "coaxing" to actually reach the surface and to begin to flow from within.  He doesn't do it through manipulation, as would be the case of a well drilled deep into the earth's surface.  Nope!  He gently tends that water, bringing it closer and closer to the surface with nothing more than his touch and his voice!  I am encouraged to know God doesn't use huge drills to accomplish his purposes in our lives - he uses the tenderness of his touch and his word!

The water which flowed had a purpose - not just to dazzle me with its beauty, but to nurture the growth around it.  Tiny critters will drink deep of its refreshing, being renewed in their inner being by what has so tenderly been prepared for their intake.  Even the flowers which bloom will be brought the nutrients necessary to coax forth the growth they will display.  All because of water from the rock!  

What God spoke the loudest to me in the times of taking in this site was the ability of God to draw forth something of such refreshing and renewing from the hardest of places.  He does this in our own lives, as well.  In the hardest of places, through the coaxing of God's touch and his voice, the hardness yields to the building pressure of his coaxing.  In time, the tiniest of openings develops, allowing what he desires to have come forth to escape its cisterns of captivity within.  God has a way of bringing forth some of the most beautiful things from the hardest places of our lives.  We don't need to give him a huge opening to accomplish his purpose - just the tiniest of openings suggests the beginnings our yielded will.  There is something of a release which occurs when we finally begin to allow the hardness to be yielded.  But...don't for a moment miss what I am about to say.  The hardness is not "broken down" from the outside!  The rocks yield from the inside out!  The water comes from the inside - the rocks yield to the pressure within, not the pressure without.

Sometimes I think we expect just the opposite.  We want God to drill into our lives, while he is already at work bubbling up what he has prepared as the very thing which will break through the hardness of the protective barrier we have formed on the outside!  Wouldn't it be something to find out we have been holding back exactly what we need to see the hardest places of our lives finally penetrated by his grace?  Some call this a miracle - I will just call it a "break-through".  Just sayin!