“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: For the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:2–3 Years ago in the neighborhood where I grew up, the local municipality needed to repair the road that went by our modest home. On the day appointed, the bulldozers rolled into town along with some other heavy-duty machinery to make the necessary repairs. At a certain point however, the contractors came across an underground aquifer which brought everything to an immediate halt. In order to complete the task, they determined that they had to pump out the water to finish the job. A makeshift well was constructed. A huge drainpipe with a gas powered pump were connected all with the intention of quickly emptying out the underground pool. At first, it seemed like the task would be short-lived. With the force of the water coming out of large pipe, we thought that it would finished in no time at all. Were we ever wrong! Day and night and night and day for over a week, the water came gushing out, cold and crystal clear. Like the rest of the nearby residents, we were delighted that the street was entirely shut down during this time with no traffic coming through our area until this engineering task was completed. I am not sure if they ever resolved the matter the way they intended or if they had to abandon it for another plan but eventually our road was repaired and life went back to normal.
A Well that Never Runs Dry
That experience with the well that never ran dry reminds me of the Lord’s encounter with the woman in John 4. When that divine encounter took place, the Lord spoke kindly but pointedly to this needy soul in spiritual terms that at first she did not understand. Not having the life of God, she failed to comprehend the truth He was conveying. He spoke of living water; she understood it as physical water. He spoke of water springing up into everlasting life; she spoke of the well as being deep and not having anything with which to draw (v. 11). He spoke of offering her water and never thirsting again if she simply asked; perplexed but intrigued, she responded “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst nor come here to draw” (v. 15). All this of course is a picture of our spiritual condition before God and His remedy. Men and women come to the wells of their choosing only to find out to their dismay that they are indeed deep and they have nothing to draw with that would bring up what truly refreshes. All that people can wish for is something that they have to continually come back to time and time again with limited satisfaction. But not so with the God of our salvation. He offers to everyone the living water that springs up into everlasting life and quenches the soul thirst of anyone who would simply ask for a drink of this “water” (v. 10). Perhaps if you are reading this and have never asked Him before, ask Him now and He will provide this as a gift, the water that you so desperately need – a gift that comes without money and without price (Isa. 55:1-3). But it does not stop there, does it? Anyone who has stooped to drink from this well is delighted to come back to it again for continual refreshment – not for salvation but for the strength and refreshment needed for the journey through this wilderness. We live in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water (Psa. 63:1); and any water that is found is either bitter (Ex. 15:22-23) or bad and the ground barren (2 Kings 2:19). This world offers a lot – much in fact – but the water it provides is either bitter or bad and hardly refreshing to the soul and not like the hidden springs that come from the Lord. We can truly say of Him, “All our springs are in You” (Ps. 87:7). And the more we do this, the more we want to come back. This is certainly what Isaiah must have been referring to when he exhorted God’s people with joy in their hearts to draw water from the wells of salvation.
Are You Drawing from the Well?
What do we come up with when we go to the well that never runs dry? The answer is that we come up with so many things that rejuvenate and refresh the soul. Here are just a few: the truth of a loving Savior who continually intercedes for us; the truth of an eternal Home awaiting us in glory; the truth about the ministry of the Spirit of God, leading, and guiding us and glorifying the Son, the Heir of all things; the truth of the knowledge of our sins forgiven and the assurance and security of our salvation in Christ. And on and on we can go – it is a well that will never run dry! Keep these things in mind as you read through this issue and with joy draw from the wells of salvation. Be reminded again how your soul can be refreshed and your joy renewed.
Like the woman at the well I was seeking, for things that could not satisfy. And then I heard my Savior speaking – draw from the well that never will run dry. Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up Lord; come and quench this burning in my soul Bread of Heaven feed me till I want no more, fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole.
– Richard Blanchard