Imagine being parched, terribly thirsty, after some hard work on a hot day. An old fashioned well nearby invites you to be refreshed. Picking up the bucket next to the well's head, you drop it into the shaft to pull up a cool drink. The water that you draw from the well sparkles in the sunlight, is cool, and as you drink it; you can feel its reviving effect immediately. Contrast that beautiful picture with another scenario. As you pull the bucket back to the top of the well, instead of the sparkling fresh water you expected, what pours from the bucket is is filthy and stinking! You discover the well has been polluted with the carcass of a dead animal. A revolting scene, isn't it?
Now move that image into the spiritual. You are in great need of compassion, seeking for answers to the thirst of your soul. There is a person in your circle of acquaintances whose life appears to be together. He seems to live a purposeful, whole, and godly life. So, you approach him to develop a friendship in which you hope to find refreshing.... only to discover that he is a shallow, sensual man who offers nothing of any value for his heart is a fouled well! OR, as you spend time with another, you find that she leaves you feeling joyful, hopeful, and challenged to seek for the God that pours from her like a drink of fresh water.
Which kind of well are YOU?
The Bible says, "guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4:23, NIV) What a challenge for those of us who would live in a way that is Christ-honoring! Watch what you put in your heart, and what you allow to stay in your heart, for what is hidden away there will either be refreshing or polluting, life giving or death dealing.
Let me state the obvious; we need to take care about the kind of information and entertainment that we put in our hearts! "Oh, come on, Jerry, I'm an adult. I can handle that stuff." A steady diet of godless, sexually immoral, profane, or self-oriented material will have a deleterious effect on a person, no matter how mature or resilient they believe themselves to be. We are only fooling ourselves if we think we can consume great quantities of what flows out of our current culture and escape the pollution's effects.
Then, too, we need to work on cleaning out the pollution that is thrown onto us from other sources. Harmful words that are spoken to us in unguarded moments, or even when we are children, can turn our heart into a source of bitter water, brackish with self-pity, sour with cynicism. We can rob those words and actions of their destructive powers IF we are willing to clean them out of our heart. It may require a counselor/friend to help us. It will certainly involve forgiveness and the healing that comes with a deep experience of God's great love.
The, there are the demons that surround us will do their best to plant their poison in us! We must resist their efforts with the weapons of the Spirit. For example, yesterday as I worked in my yard on my day off, seemingly from nowhere came thoughts of resentment and anger. I found myself agitated, then feeling an 'oh, what's the use of trying to go on?' emotion that was more than a passing mood. When I realized what was happening, I began to pray for the Spirit to rise up in me. I offered thanks to God for the situations and people that had come to mind. It was a struggle, but after a time the attack failed and my heart was at peace again.
Here's a word from the Word to take with you today -- "Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “If you are thirsty, come to me! If you believe in me, come and drink! For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water will flow out from within.” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him....)" (John 7:37-39, NLT)
_____________________________
May the Spirit of God
prime the well of my heart
with living water.
And, may I 'guard the well' so that
what overflows from my life
is a refreshing drink to those who thirst.
In Jesus' name, I pray.
Amen
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