WELLS!

Genesis 26:18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them. (NKJV).

Much has been said over the years about wells. All good stuff! There’s so much rich truth and encouragement for us in this passage in Genesis 26. Especially so now at this time.

A well in Scripture is an amazing place. Study the times a well is mentioned and see what truths come out to you. Biblically it speaks of water, life, of resource, refreshing, a gathering place, a place of commitment, a place of contention, a place of victory, a place of healing, a place of breeding and reproducing, a place of blessing, a place of worship, a place of matchmaking, a place where the bitter was made sweet. WOW! If you’re like me I’ll have as much of that as I can!

What is our “fuel”? What are we going to live on? Have we run on or near empty for too long? We need our own well and we need to know how to build a lasting life-giving well and draw from it living water! The “Well” quite simply, is the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, nothing else is the well.

Let’s look at Genesis 26 and see how it can help us.

V1.
There was a famine in the land…
Isaac was living in a time of famine, yet his name means Laughter! What? There was a famine in the land, and Isaac was laughing! He wasn’t worried about these external things, he knew how to prosper, he knew how to find and draw sustaining life from a well. Isaac was a digger of wells and he prospered. Notice also Isaac’s attitude and actions confirmed his name’s meaning. He “sowed” in that land and dug wells. (See Genesis 26:12-14, 18). Despite the year of famine going on around him and in which he like others lived, he still sowed and dug wells. So it should be for God’s people! We must sow even in the times of famine.

V2.
Then the LORD appeared to him and said…
The voice of God speaks! How long has it been since you’ve “heard” the voice of God speaking directly into your situation? Isaac would have known the promise of God to his father Abraham, but now he hears the promise to “HIM”. It’s now personal. In tough times isn’t it interesting that we seem to pray more, fast more and seek God harder. Rightly so but God wants us to seek Him at all times, good and not so good. I believe we must seek Him earnestly in the good times and take and make the time to establish a relationship with God so that when tough times come, there’s already a connection there.

V3-4.
Dwell is this land…
When we seek God at crucial times in our lives, sometimes He says stay (more often I think), sometimes He says go. But the promise is always true, this is the heart of God for us, (while we’re on earth): i) to be with us, ii) to bless us, iii) to prosper us, iv) to fulfill His promises, v) multiply our (spiritual) descendants.

V15.
Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells…
What are Well Stoppers? Things that stop the flow of life, of blessing, of prosperity, of connection to the Lord. There’s a long list of possibles: the phone, cell phone, unimportant things, time wasters, time robbers, wrong relationships, T.V.. Some have their place but can rob us of quality “wells”.

V18-20.
Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father…
Abraham and now Isaac were hard working, thrifty strong characters, they would not live in a place without improving it (now there’s a lesson if ever there was one!); “…they dug wells…” Perhaps Isaac saw as he was growing up the devotion his father Abraham had to the Lord. Maybe he heard about these wells and may have known the stories of Abraham’s blessing and prosperity coming from them. He saw what his father had and he wanted the same!

V21-22.
… they dug another well…, … he moved from there and dug another well…, … now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land…
Fruitfulness is something Isaac was familiar with. Now at last he has his own place to prosper. How we all want to be fruitful and prosper! Yet in testing times many give up, when God is sorting out attitudes, motives, inner heart issues, and where we’re really plugged in. So don’t give up, dig again! Dig another well! Fruitfulness is just around the corner! There’s a well, a place of blessing, of prosperity, of peace, of refreshing for us at the well of God’s presence!

I’ve seen so many things come and go in church life over the years. Lots of them can help us in our Christian walk, and help to bring God’s Kingdom to our towns and cities. I think of conferences, seminars, tapes (now CD’s and DVD’s), televangelists, books, the latest “thing”, the latest hottest speaker doing the rounds, even revival. All have a vital contribution to make to encourage us, to bring us to Biblical perfection and help us on our way in growing and serving God fruitfully. All of these are good and important. But, they in themselves are not wells! They are not “the” answer to our towns; they are “a” answer. What is God’s perpetual answer? It is a well! They last! We need to know how to dig, build a well, and draw from it living water that will last the tests of time and see us fruitfully through to the finish of our race! The “Well” is the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, nothing else is the well.

So many people are crying out for spiritual rain, refreshing, and yes, we need to! What we need is a flowing well! Someone once said; “Dig wells rather than dance for rain”. Isaac prospered in a time of famine because he was a digger of wells. And his prosperity would have been noticed by those who lived near him.

How’s your Well? Jesus says in John 4:14 Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life!” (The Message Bible). And don’t I know this message is so real and pertinent to me at this time! I have just a week ago today been made redundant!

The “Well” is the presence of the Holy Spirit in us, nothing else is the well.

If you don’t find this Living Water, you’ll dry up, become barren, waste away, be fruitless, decrease, diminish, and soon demise. So dwell at the Well! And you’ll breed, you’ll reproduce, become strong, healthy, you’ll be fruitful, find increase, you’ll expand and proliferate! That’s it! An amazing and powerful secret.