Sometimes my spiritual life loses its sizzle. It goes flat. Becomes predictable. Routine. It dries up, like a well that's empty. Remember the story in Genesis 26, where Isaac re-dug the wells of his father Abraham (the ones that had been stopped up by the Philistines), and then went on to dig new wells? A few observations come to mind...
1. Abraham's wells were clogged because of an enemy attack. Often the Bible uses water to symbolize the presence of the Spirit of God. So, by putting dirt in the wells, the enemy tries to cut off, or dry up the flow of God's Spirit in our lives. What can we do? Start cleaning out our hearts, and prepare to re-dig those wells!
2. If we want God to expand our territory, or enlarge our effectiveness, we need to search for NEW places to dig wells. Where is God leading you? What people or community might he want you to reach into?
3. The hard work of digging wells turns to CELEBRATION when the water springs up! (Gen. 26:32 -- "We have found water!!!")
Ideas for digging new wells:
- Take a closer look at my personal prayer time (both quality and quantity)
- Find a "deeper" book to read, that will challenge me at the soul-level, not
just sharpen my skills as a leader (ie, C.S. Lewis over John Maxwell, or Watchman Nee over Rick Warren, Dietrich Bonhoeffer over Andy Stanley)
- Rediscover personal WORSHIP, not just the Sunday morning kind, by choosing a CD over talk radio while driving.
- Take a 3-day fast (not enough to kill me, but enough to get my attention!)
What new wells are you digging?
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You so right-on with this... As I see it, we all are on this journey of digging wells. I certainly find myself coming up dry at times.. When I do decide to evaluate those times, I find that I don't have to look to far to find that it's me that ran dry and not the well. I thank God for the Holy Spirit and fellow Christians that prod me to dig deeper and find those wells of living waters.
ReplyDeleteAwesome feedback, Butch! I agree...
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