Sunday, May 4, 2008

This Woman's Been Drinkin' from a Cistern Long Enough!


We learned at our ladies retreat about the importance of being women of the well. How only the water of life can satisfy our lives. How we need to come to the well over and over in order that our lives may be fully effective vessels of the Holy Spirit. We learned about how we turn to "wishing wells" of all kinds that we think will fill our thirst when only Christ can. Those "wishing wells" took on different forms: 1- The World's Wells (materialism, personal pride, lust of the eyes and flesh/ 1 John 2:15,16, Eph 5:5, 2-Choked Up Wells (wells that get filled with junk the enemy throws in our well to deceive us into thinking we are filled and yet it blocks the flow of living water/ Mark 4:18,19; Prov 23:5), 3- Cisterns (water we rely on collected from past growth in Christ or previous building up of our relationship with Jesus/Jer.2:13), and 4- Forgotten Wells (relationships completely neglected with Christ/ Eph 1:18,19.

This week I have turned to a Cistern well. I have also let my well become crowded with boulders of life. Some good, some not so good, that have halted the flow of living water in my life.

Although the past few weeks I have had many an opportunity to glean from the Word, or a teller of truth, I have not had any of that this week. The water collected in my cistern is growing stagnate and my energy is drained by the lack of living water. Not only this, but I have had to live out some humbling consequences of selfish decisions. Nothing huge, but it's the little things isn't it? It resulted in a great funk.

Today the Lord has humbled me greatly. I can rejoice in that or I can choose to sit and sulk that I'm not getting my way. I don't' feel like rejoicing in it. So, I am praying he will send the comforter to help me rejoice, and to rest in Him. To not be looking for other things to fill my life with satisfaction. To not be worried about the opinion of men as much as the opinion of my God. Oh, I am so easily distracted and so lacking in Christ-likeness. Yet, he is full and willing to give if I will obey. It is not easy to obey. It is not easy to let him dig out more of me so that he may fill me with his living water. To be a vessel of his Holy Spirit I have to give up me. Me wants to be understood, me wants to be right, me wants to be pampered, me wants to be appreciated by my family, me wants ...... He only wants me.

So, in the effort to find accountability for not drinking from a cistern, or letting anything clog up my well this week. I will be taking more time to sit at the feet of Jesus. This blog can become a cistern for me. A collection of my thoughts on what the Lord is teaching me, and yet not time with Him. I can get very wrapped up in thoughts my friends have (and they are great!) but not on what He thinks.

Like Tricia I too read the verse on the printable organization pages I referred you to below and was convicted. "She looks well to the affairs of her household...." The word "well" rang loudly in my mind. Oh, what a delight I have to be home and take care of a home. Oh, Lord, fill my heart with thanksgiving rather than discontent and help me not run from it but be diligent.

I guess you could say that my well needs attention as does my housekeeping.

1 comment:

Tricia said...

I get so easily distracted by me. I find I make the worst choices when I follow my feelings.