Keeping Your Well Full

I found a natural spring one summer when my family was camping. We were in northern Ontario, and my brother and I were hiking up a small escarpment that overlooked Georgian Bay. We diverged into the woods, off the beaten path, exploring–and there it was! It was very cool to look at, to see the water bubbling up out of the spring and running downhill in a small stream before emptying into the bay.

We put our hands into the water and it was cold–very cold! I remember splashing some on my face, and (probably unsafely, with what I know now) cupping some in my hands to drink. It was so cold, clear, and refreshing. It was definitely a highlight of this trip, as we believed we had found our own secret water supply.

We took our annual family vacation at the same campground each year, so I got more and more excited as our trip got closer the following year. I wanted to go back to the spring, to see the fruits of our exploration, and to drink from the cold and clear water and be refreshed. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, but by the time we set up camp it was dusk. Our exploration would have to wait until the next day.

Dawn rose on Monday, and after breakfast we set out to find “our” spring. We walked down the hill our campsite was on, down the road, across the bridge that covered the stream fed by the bay, and began our trek up the escarpment. We arrived at where we remembered we had previously cut into the woods and we went in. But the spring was nowhere to be found! It had dried up and was gone, at least for this season. The stream that it was feeding was also gone, evidence that the water had dried up and become barren.

Our spiritual lives are like this spring. We want the cool, cold water to refresh us, and we need the water to be available for this. But sometimes, like a dried up spring, our wells are empty.

Unlike this spring that disappeared on my brother and I, we can keep our own wells full. By giving attention to spiritual practices and habits like reflective Bible reading, listening prayer, and spiritual sharing with others, we keep water in our well to draw from when we need it.

Have you ever needed joy but felt empty? Have you struggled with fear or anxiety, looking for relief, but finding none? These are symptoms of an empty well.

Instead, a well-fed and cultivated well will let you draw from its depths as you need.
When you are anxious, you can drink the waters of strength. When you are tired, your well will provide you energy. When you are fearful, your well water will give you peace.

Your well is your relationship with God. Keep it full, and God will provide for you.

— — — — —

How to Engage With Me

If you’d like to talk about this, please reply to get in touch with me.

If you found this helpful, please click the heart to like it, leave a comment, and share it with 3 others or on your social media channels.

If you received this from someone else or enjoyed it by reading it online, please subscribe to this daily email at dailydiscipleship.substack.com.

Check out my books at my Amazon author page.