The Samaritan Woman – The Well Is Deep
Waking song: I just wanna be with You!
After sitting at the feet of Jesus I started the music 🎶
This song....
Do you remember the time your heart was moved to tears?
Do you look back on the moment after all these years?
On the moment love broke through and heaven seemed so
Near?
Do you remember the time your heart was moved to
Tears?
Do you remember the day you first let Jesus in?
How he gently and tenderly washed away your sin -
Don't you know that he still cares the way he did back
Then?
Do you remember the day you first let Jesus in?
Keep holdin' on, never letting go.
We're not far from the end of the road.
Keep holdin' on, never letting go.
We're not far from the end of the road.
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Keith Thomas / Amy Grant / Vince Gill
Do You Remember The Time lyrics © Dimensional Music Of 1091,
Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing, Vinny Mae Music, Grant Girls Music LLC
Song: The praise is Yours - Elevation
Worship
That first day at the well for me was at Northridge Church.
I thought about what that was like for a moment. I had spent 49 years on this
earth living in the natural way this world does things. I was carrying my ‘clay
pot’ but it never got filled. I seemed to come up empty every time I tried to
get the love, affection, approval or attention I so longed for.
It seems I ran to my own “wells” to get filled. Those wells
were food, alcohol, drugs, the affection of men, affection of supposed friends,
my children, shopping, entertainment - work and extreme busyness.
Anything to get that fulfilled feeling that never seemed to come.
I went to a counselor looking for help desperately. I knew
my life was out of control at the time and felt like a volcano ready to
explode. At our initial meeting, after hearing the details of my life, she
looked directly at me without hesitation and dais, “You are trying to love
yourself.”
No one had ever said that to me before. I sat back in my
chair and just thought about that for a moment. Oh, how I needed love. Oh, I
longed for that in the deepest part of me but didn’t even realize how deep my ‘empty
well’ really was.
As I listened to the songs that Holy Spirit brought to me
this morning, and I will share them here, I could hear the Lord speaking to me
in a BIG way!
Song: Lord You are more precious than
silver, Lord You are more costly than gold. Lord You are more beautiful than
diamonds. Nothing I desire compares to You. You’re so wonderful.
At that moment I was soaking in His presence and receiving what
He wanted to say to me. Then the next song…
“He is Lord (He is Lord), Christ has risen from the dead and
He is Lord. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord!
The songs took me back to that first day I hit my knees and
realized He is Lord! It was that moment when I began to realize how precious Jesus
is!
The following song reminded me of who He is what He does for
me in my life…
Song: I will bless the Lord forever. (Hillsong) I will trust
Him at all times. He has delivered me from all fears. He has set my feet upon a
rock! I will not be moved. You are my Shield, my Strength, my Portion,
Deliverer, my Shelter, Strong Tower - my very present help in time of need.
Who have I in heaven beside You! You have made me glad and
I’ll say of the Lord – You are my…
Shield
Strength
Portion
Deliverer
Shelter
Strong Tower
My very present help in time of need!
The next song reminded me that there are things I have to
deny myself of to take up the cross He has called me to bear, like my own
agenda for the day!
Song: Music by: Selah
He said come, anyone who wants must deny himself, take up
his cross, follow Me, no matter the cost, be My heart, My hands, My voice.
How are we living for Christ? Following Him we will
sacrifice, but are we willing to die?
God gives the strength that it takes. He knows the price
that you pay, the life you’ve been called to, will not be in vain, so don’t be
afraid, don’t be afraid.
When you are shackled in chains, imprisoned for sharing His Name,
if you should suffer for righteousness sake, don’t be afraid; don’t be afraid.
Whoever wants to save his life will lose it. Whoever loses
his life for my sake will find it.
I was assured by Holy Spirit that He will help me get past
all this. The total surrender of what I do and when.
Song: All the glory, by Terry Macalmon. Check this out on
You Tube. Terry brings us beautiful worship music to really help us bask in the
presence of the Lord.
The next song really helped me to feel encouraged.
Song: Uncontainable Love By: Elevation Worship
Your love is deep enough to reach the deepest part
of me.
The woman at the well said the well is deep...
Jesus’ love was able to reach the deepest part of her that
day when she first encountered Jesus. Like the day I first encountered Him at
the well (Northridge Church). That day when I first saw Jesus for Who He really
is - in some measure at least!
Yesterday didn’t go like the Lord had planned for exactly. A
lot of it was great. Just a couple of bumps along the way. I saw this last
night and understood it by the grace of God.
There were many devils along the side of the road as I drove
toward meeting my first appointment. That devil was eating. I thought I wasn’t
supposed to eat breakfast when in fact the Lord showed me in the morning to
have my meal at home and soup later. I forced myself to eat at noon with my lunch
guests, rather than telling them I just was
not hungry.
At the end of the day as I wondered about the soup along my
ride home, Holy Spirit gave me the recipe for what I had at home to make a wonderful
soup. As I ate I didn’t feel great because the fish I had for lunch was too much
since I was not hungry after eating breakfast.
His plan was better for me. My first meeting with a lovely
lady who owns an international food store said, “You need to gain 20 pounds”
and yet I wondered how when I limit my carbs. Last night I believe I saw that Holy
Spirit had a perfect recipe that was perfect for me.
God gave me so much grace as I went along trough the day. I guess
in my mind I have continued to restrict myself based on old ways of thinking, eating
and going about my day. But this is what I heard from Holy Spirit as we sat
together…
“You are freer than you think. You just need to
believe that. You know you don’t have a problem with food. You’re not one
who likes to overdo and be so full it makes you feel sick. The bigger issues
are what has gotten in the way. Time to hear and understand the plan for the
day. You have faith when you know what it is - and you are willing to know
because the truth sets you free.”
That was profound for me to hear that. He encouraged me to
look at the verses in Proverbs 1-3 today and seek His wisdom about things BEFORE
making a move that might otherwise cause regret.
See proverbs 1:20 through 3:1-8
He is showing us that we must PAY ATTENTION to what He tells
us! Had I done that correctly yesterday I would have pulled over
off the side of the road and asked Him why I saw all those buzzards. To me they
represent the presence of the enemy! That should have caused me to stop
immediately and ask! I showed up early enough for my lunch appointment and had
plenty of time to seek the Lord on that before I went in. But, I allowed myself
to be distracted with busyness. That’s what really blocked the
reception.
Whenever I do things in my own strength, aka, use my ‘clay
pot’, I don’t seem to get what I am really reaching for which is that deep
connectivity to Jesus! Busyness allows for distraction which robs me of that
deep place of love with Jesus when I really come to Him and just linger at His
well of everlasting life! He is showing me that it is not a food problem I
have. It never has been. It has been all the busyness that drove me to near
insanity and kept me from drawing from His well of love.
I heard Him lay out a plan for my day today as well as what
I will eat, yet when I went to eat I heard Holy Spirit bring up that song from
yesterday, saying, “You were there to catch me every time I fall, that Je
loves right through it all.”
Then I wondered if I should be eating at all. There was fear
and I had to resist it. He helped me to hear from Him as I ironed my clothes
quietly continuing to prepare for the day ahead. It wasn’t the food I ate; it
was the timing. That’s why I didn’t feel good about it when I had breakfast.
That inner knowing.
Then I knew that the words I heard earlier this morning
about the Samaritan woman’s experience at the well, that “the well is deep.”
That well is Jesus. Time with Him at the well, alone, while the disciples were
off seeking lunch. Jesus was there seeking a poor soul who needed to be filled
with HIS water!
Jesus is that well of living water. Food and water take care
of a natural need and we must have it to live in our natural bodies. But Jesus
wants to fill our wells with His life giving water. So for me today, it wasn’t
about not eating. In fact, I went from an over eater many years ago to almost
anorexic. Now I need to gain 20 pounds but wonder how I can do it because I
don’t eat that much volume anymore. Holy Spirit is trying to help me with that.
So what would have been my best choice this morning? It
would have been to linger ‘at the well’ with Him a little while longer to get
filled to overflow for my day. I was just thinking in my journal today that I
would really like to have a day - just one day where it all seems to go just
right. And then to be able to build on that each day afterward. He can get me
there.
I do have much work that He wants me to do. A mountain of
it! But first things first. If we think we are too busy to take time with Jesus
at the well, then we are too busy! Our priorities are way out of whack. For
apart from Him we can do nothing – nothing that’s fruitful or effective that
is.
Instead of beating myself up over not hitting the mark
today, I will choose to meditate on the wisdom I first opened to this morning
starting in Proverbs 1:20 and going all the way to Proverbs 3:8.
If we will really, really, really incline our ears and eyes
to His teachings, then we will walk in His ways to the glory of His holy Name -
that Name that is above busyness and all the distractions that daily life
certainly brings. How about you? Can you relate to this? If this helps or encourages
you or someone you know in some way, then it makes all my openness in sharing
these things well worth it! Pun intended. Send me a comment to let me
know how it has blessed you.
Have a marvelously blessed weekend at the well!
Hanny Lynn Stearns
Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.
Hannylynn05@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment