"Have you drawn from the Well, lately?"

Merriam Dictionary defines a Well as: a pit or hole sunk into the earth to reach a supply of water.

In ancient Israel the summer months were extremely dry, and during this time people dug and carved out for themselves cisterns out of the solid rock. These cisterns were like man-made reservoirs (or wells) that would contain large amounts of water from the rain falls.

Why is water so important to us?

Water sustains all forms of life, including human life.

Water adjusts the body's temperature and assists in digestion. It removes toxins from the body and also makes necessary body fluids. The chemical reactions that support life take place in a water medium, with water being an important reactant or product of these reactions.

It can be said that the chemistry of life is water chemistry. For the body to function properly, it must be hydrated properly. Moreover, the qualities and properties of the water we drink can determine the quality of our health. Did you know that the adult human body is made up of 60-75% water and thebrain is made up of about 85% water? Also, blood which carries nutrients and oxygen throughout the body, is about 90% water.

As you can see, water carries life energy - water is your lifeline! Man is made up of three parts which are: mind, body and soul (spirit). Although it is important for man to sustain his physial body with the nutrients in which water provides. Man must also maintain his soul with nutrients (spirit) provided by the Holy Spirit.

On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus publicly spoke and said (John 7:37-38):

"Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'"

What is this water, Jesus spoke of? It is Living Water, that can only be drawn from the wells of the Holy Spirit. It is the "true" water that heals the body and nourish the soul and it is available to all who ask for it.

In the 4th Chapter of the book of John, Jesus' had a conversation with a lone Samaritian woman who had come to get water from a well (known as Jacob's well) located about a half mile from the city of ASychar in Samaria:

10"If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water."

11"But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?

12And besides, do you think yo're greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?"

13Jesus replied, "Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fesh, bubbling spring within them giving them eternal life."

The Samaritan woman was extraordinary not because she came from a race of people that the Jews despised, as not having a claim to God, but she was an outcast and looked down upon by her own people. She had no friends, and came daily to the well to draw water alone. She was ostracized and marked as immoral by her peers. She was unmarried and had lived openly with five in a series of men.

As with each of us, no matter where we find ourselves in life, God is never waiting to condemn ua. He extends His grace to us, because He finds us worthy of His love in spite of our bankrupt lives. He values us enough to actively seek us, to welcome us to intimacy, and to rejoice in our worship of Him. He sees the value in each of us, even when we can't see the value for ourselves - this is His grace. Author Mannan Brenning writes in his book entitled "Ruthless Trust":

"Our trust in Jesus grows as we shift from making self-conscious efforts to be good by allowing ourselves to be loved as we are (not as we should be). The Holy Spirit moves us from head to the heart, from intellectual cognition to experiental awareness."

As with the Samaritan woman, Jesus calls to each of us to draw from Him daily, so that we will never thirst again. What is it that your thristing for, today? Is it a new house or a new car? Are you thirsting for prosperity and abundance? Could it be peace and deliverance?

Do you have a sense of awe that good things happen for everyone else, but you? Does your past keep creepting up, to hinder your presence? Have your hurts and failures, cause you to resent everything and everyone around you?

Brennan Manning, shared a phenomenal story in his book entitled "A Glimpse of Jesus", when he wrote of the unnamed sinful woman who was awed by the loveliness and compassion flowing from Jesus' face (Luke 7:36-50). Bringing an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume she knelt down weeping, and wiped the tears which fell to His feet with her hair.

In the face of Jesus the woman saw the Savior eyes calling out to her to come unto Him. His eyes pleaded that she didn't delay until her act was cleaned up or until her head was on straight. He didn't want her to wait until she was free of pride, lust, jealousy and self-hatred. No! He wanted her just the way she was, full of brokeness, sinfulness, despair, fear, insecurities and lust. His eyes pleaded to her, as they said: "Come to me, I will comfort you. I will meet you right where you are and love you just the way you are, and not the way you think you should be (2 par. p36)".

Brennan Manning further writes: "The place that this tranformed woman occupies in Christian thought is not due to her strange, deep love for Jesus, but rather to what was wrought in her by Christ's love for her. It was Christ's love for her that delivered her from her past and made her what she became. The central truth for which her life has come to stand is that it is possible to be delivered, through love, from the lowest depths to the shining heights where God dwelleth."

It is there, when we are engulfed in the trenches of life and we thirst for a revival in our souls that we must begin to draw from the Well of Hope, which is found only in the personage of Jesus Christ.

We must remember, that no one ever cared more or will ever valued us more, than our Father in Heaven, who gave his only begotten Son, so we may come boldly before the throne of grace and find "living water" for our parched souls.

Have you drawn from the well of Jesus, lately?