Focus: The Well Within!

Text: Gen.25:11

"Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi."

Isaac pitched his tent by the well and lived there. Wells were precious in those days. Water is life. No human being survives without water. We all need it. It enlivens, refreshes, cleanses and sustains. 

*Drinking from the well

Hagar encountered God right here, at a time when her back was against the wall and the life of her son was at the brink of extinction. God manifested Himself to her and opened her eyes to see this well, so that she and Ishmael her son drank from it, and survived the danger of dying. 

You can encounter God right in the place of distress and dejection. The eyes of the Lord are ever on those going through stuff.

Water from the well of Lahai-roi strengthened Hagar and her son to return home to Abraham. She DRANK from the well.

*Drawing from the well

Isaiah declares, "Therefore with joy shall ye DRAW water out of the wells of salvation" (Isa.12:3). From this Scripture we can see that it is not just about drinking, but about drawing. You should be able to draw before drinking. No drawing, no drinking. If you are not able to draw, then you will need the gift of water from the person who has been able to draw the water out of the well. John says, "There cometh a woman of Samaria to DRAW water: Jesus saith unto her, GIVE me to drink" (Jh.4:7). The woman of Samaria came to draw water from Jacob's well, and Jesus Christ was asking the woman who came to draw for a gift of water. But then, from asking, Jesus Christ directs her attention to His own unique water. Jesus Christ is saying to her in essence, 'I have my own water from my own well different from Jacob's well. As I am asking you for water from Jacob's well, you ought to ask me for the water from my own well.' She could not grasp what Christ was saying, and so she said, "The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast NOTHING TO DRAW WITH, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?"(Jh.4:11). 

To drink from this well, you need drawing vessel - something to draw with. That something is faith. Faith is the hand that takes what God gives. Faith is the implement by which you can draw from the well of living water. Another drawing vessel is joy. "With joy you shall draw water from the wells of salvation." 

It is at the cross that God opened the wells or fountains of salvation. By faith you connect to collect from the wells of salvation.

Because of your faith you go to the wells of salvation full of joy, assurance and expectation that you will never meet the well empty of water. The wells of God can never be likened to man's cisterns that have no water in them. You will never get to God's wells and be disappointed. You are joyful and hopeful going to God's wells.

*Dwelling by the well

The psalmist says, "And he shall be like a tree PLANTED BY THE RIVERS of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper" (Ps.1:3). Hagar drank from the well and went her way, but the psalmist tells us of the importance of being like a tree planted by the river. Now you are no longer coming and going. You are now planted by the rivers of living water. Our text tells us that Isaac made the place of the well his dwelling place. He wisely and intentionally lived near the well. He didn't have to travel a long distance to draw and drink from the well. He made the place of the well his home.

*The Indwelling well

We have talked about drinking and drawing from the well, and also dwelling near the well. The final experience is having the well inside of you. Jesus Christ says, "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall BE IN HIM a well of water SPRINGING UP into everlasting life" (Jh.4:14). The well is not only with you; it is now in you. The well makes its dwelling within you. Jesus Christ says concerning the Holy Spirit that "He dwelleth WITH you, and shall be IN you" (Jh.14:17). The Spirit shall be both with you and in you. He shall be inside of you and outside of you at the same time.

I pray for you to catch the revelation of the wells of salvation. I pray you come to draw and drink from the wells of the Spirit, dwell near it, and let it become the inward reality and the propelling force of your life. The presence of the Spirit initiates and advances radical changes in your life. Amen!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter