Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Pause. Pray. Read. Be still. Write. Pray. Go about your day or turn in for the night.
Read: Genesis 26:12-15 Maintaining Our Wells
…the Philistines envied him.
(Now the Philistines had stopped up and filled with earth all the wells
that his father’s servants had dug ….)
(Genesis 26:15, NRSV)
Abraham resided as an alien for many years in the desert land of the Philistines where God led him. There, Abraham and his family flourished, sustained by the fresh water drawn from the deep wells he dug in faith in his Lord’s promises.
Abraham’s son, Isaac, inherited this land and its wells. Like his father, the Lord blessed him, and he reaped a hundredfold. Isaac’s wealth became so extensive that the Philistines envied, and perhaps feared, him. They decided to intimidate Isaac and diminish his abundance by clogging the wells with dirt.
Wells of water were fountains of life in the arid desert. Likewise, our life-giving source of abiding peace, hope, and joy are those places where we dig deep wells of faith – wells through which we grow spiritually and in our relationship with God. We must guard these spiritual wells from difficulties or busyness that jealously distract us from maintaining them properly; and watch out for deceptive enemies who try to level us to their playing field by filling our wells with dirt and debris.
Be still and Reflect: How and where are you digging deeper spiritual wells of faith? Can you identify any areas of discipleship clogged with debris or that have dried up out of neglect? (consider your prayer life, study of the Word, passion for worship, service where called, or connections with the community of faith.)
Pray: Lord God, I praise Your holy name and give You thanks for the wells of faith and blessings that You have opened to me. Help me to dig even deeper wells of understanding and intimacy with You; to remain alert and avoid enemies that would stop Your Spirit’s flow within me. Lord, make my whole life a well of Your living water. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.