A few nights ago, I dreamed that I finally found an empty bed. Mind you, it was a display model on a showroom floor, but I didn’t care. I was exhausted and it was too inviting. In my dream, I watched myself lying there asleep with my foot sticking out from the edge of the covers. IT WAS HEAVENLY!! Too soon, someone came by and said, “I know the tattoo on that ankle! That is Chris, and she should not be sleeping.” So, they woke me up, and I got up and back to “work.”
If you have been with me ON THE PORCH for any length of time, you know I struggle with rest. Because of the fibro, my sleep patterns are sporadic, and because my mind seems trapped in high gear, I tend to drag my body along for the ride. Sleep is tough, but true rest is almost nonexistent.
The other night I was listening to a woman online named Brenda Thorn. The title of her talk was “Digging Wells,” and God spoke straight to my heart and into my soul. She told the story in Genesis of Isaac digging wells.
The last time I posted, it was the story about Abraham and Isaac both duping King Abimelek. Later God blessed Isaac, and the king forced him out of the Philistine territory. His position changed from being Isaac’s defender to his destroyer.
**Isaac planted crops in the land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. Genesis 26:11-14
**So, all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. So Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.” So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar. Genesis 26:15-17
King Abimelek allowed his men to fill the wells Isaac used with dirt, therefore destroying his livelihood. Isaac had no choice but to stand and fight or to leave. So, he moved, but continued to have trouble.
**Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. Genesis 26:19-20
**Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. Genesis 22:21
**He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” Genesis 26:22
**From there he went up to Beersheba. That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched a tent, and there his servants dug a well.” Genesis 26:23-25
After the LORD appeared to Isaac, Abimelek appears in the picture again. He wanted to make a covenant with Isaac as he had made with Abraham. God’s people were men of their word, and Abimelek realized his mistakes too late. He did not want to be on the receiving end of God’s wrath again. Isaac swore the oath, made a peace treaty with Abimelek, and sent him on his way.
**That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “WE’VE FOUND WATER!” He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba. Genesis 26:32
Isaac dug four wells with four different responses…Esek means “dispute.” Sitnah means “opposition.”
Rehoboth means “room.” Shibah means “oath and well of seven.”
So many unexpected events have happened in the last few months that took the world by surprise. I tend to think Isaac must have felt the same way when the Philistines clogged up his wells. WHAT NOW?!?!? I cannot imagine how hard his servants worked to obtain water to keep their tribe and stocks alive. I am sure it was a daily struggle. It had to have been more than disheartening when they found out what they’d worked so hard for had been sabotaged. Their means of survival had suddenly been taken away. He had no choice but to move on, start over, and literally dig in. Isaac and his tribe did not give up. They continued to dig wells until they got what they wanted.
This morning I had to ask myself, “What well am I drinking from today?”
Am I at the well of dispute or opposition? Sometimes I am. Lately I find myself irritated and in a funk. No matter what I try, my mind stays aggravated at who knows what, and nothing will soothe it. I must make a choice to fight past those wells to move on.
Or am I drinking from the well of “room?” In the society we’ve been a part of lately, lots of people were forced to slow down and some ended up with extra room in their calendars and schedules. I didn’t. My life, schedule, and time continued to stay crowded with no margin, no room. My mind and body have tell-tales signs of that. So…I continue to dig.
Now I must ask myself, “Am I willing to work through the first three wells to get to the fourth well, the “well of seven?” The fourth time they dug they found water and they were in an area they could stay, so Isaac named the well “seven”. In the Bible, seven means “complete, to REST.” Did you catch that?? REST!!!! That is the well I have struggled and strived discover to for years. But just as they had to work for it, I know I also have some work to do. My decisions affect which well I hang around drinking from.
LORD, this morning I know I am not where I need to be. At times, I stay near the wells I am more comfortable with that do not produce the Living Water. Our lives and our world have been in such turmoil, I haven’t noticed my heart drifting as quickly as I should have. Thank You for Brenda and her willingness to share from Your Word. Thank You for always wanting the best for us and doing more than Your part to help us move to a better place on the plains. Today, I ask that You direct me straight past “dispute” (or quarrel) and “opposition.” Help me deal with the matters I need to confront to move through “room.” Show me ways to make room in my heart, room in my schedule and room in my life to prepare me for the next well. I truly yearn for “rest.” Quiet my mind, comfort my heart, and still my soul. Allow me to sit in Your Presence and drink deeply from the Living Water only You can provide…
**Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” John 4:10
BE STILL MY SOUL
ON THE PORCH 