DRINKING FROM THE WELL TODAY

Where did Jesus find you last?  He found me yesterday as I listened to the story about the Prodigal, or as Jesus introduced it, “a certain man had two sons”.  In the conclusion, the man rejoiced in the return of his Prodigal by saying, “this my son was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found.”  




The point that was brought out in this sermon was the word translated as “lost” was really the word “missing”. Luke 15:11-24.  Interesting, huh?

How do you relate to this story?  Do you feel dead or alive?  lost or found? Jesus is hanging around wells every day waiting for a “missing” person to come by He can invite back home.  I love this idea that with God, there are no “lost” persons, but only persons “missing” from the place of God’s original intention for them.  Psalm 139 reveals His original intention for each of us.  

Where are you today?  Do you feel as though you are right where you were always intended to be by God?  Or do you somehow feel a little out of place, not quite comfortable in your own world?  There is a state I call a “sense of well being” for which all of us have a very deep sense of longing, and unfortunately, is found by too few. 

Do you know what I mean by a sense of well being?  It is that good feeling you have when everything is going your way; you got your need met in exactly the right way at the right time.  It is believed that is how babies learn to trust and they bond with the one who meets those needs in that way or they develop a sense of mistrust for their world.  This does not happen for all of us.  Sad!

What gives you that feeling?  For me, I equate it with the feeling I get when I am lying on the sofa in my scruffys (my word for jameys), looking out the atrium door at a gentle snow falling on the trees behind my house with the delicious odor of something wonderful in the crockpot and I know that none of my loved ones are in the way of harm.  Perfect peace!

Isaiah 26.3 tells us that God “will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are stayed on Him, because they trust in Him.”  This was one of the first scripture verses to minister deeply to me.  I needed such peace desperately!   I believe we were created for that feeling of well being when we experience those moments of meeting with Jesus and begin trusting Him to meet our real needs in the right way.
Photography by my daughter Kim.  Thanks!

How long has it been since you felt something akin to “perfect peace”?  Before being “found” by Jesus like the woman at the well of John 4, I sometimes found that peace in places that were disappointing.  Oh, not initially!  At first, the good feelings would come, but they would not last.  When they faded, it seemed as though my bucket was emptier than before.  Then I would have to try and fill it again.

Do you know what I mean?  Of course you do!  It is the human condition whenever we are without God.  Even those of us who get “found” still have experiences of feeling “lost”.  Like babies, we need repeated times of being held, fed, patted, sang to and rocked before we can believe that it will happen over and over again until it is a state of being – one of well being.  No matter how long it takes for us to find our way back, but He is always waiting when we get there.  Have you ever had that experience  before?

Would you like to experience that state of well being right now?  Ok, close your eyes and start walking toward Jesus.  He is right there somewhere close to you, because He is always there waiting.  Go ahead, walk right up to Him and look into His eyes.  See the joy that He feels to see you today!  Sit down with Him; sit down close and just look up into His eyes and let Him meet your real needs in the right way.  It will come – Perfect peace – that sense of well being.  Now, enjoy as long as you possibly can.  Allow the experience to bless you deeply until it becomes a state to which you can return at any time because it is a condition for which you were created!

I pray the SON is shining on your mountain or in your valley!  Please write a comment and tell me about your meeting with Him today.  I will look forward to hearing from you.  Blessings be unto you this day!