“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into eternal life.“ JOHN 4:14

Many of you may be familiar with that verse. It was the Master’s response to the woman at the well, beautiful account of the Samaritan lady whom Jesus asked for a drink, it’s like fancy that, the God of the universe strategically meeting this lady right where she was.

He knew her current living arrangement and he knew all of her committed sin.

He knew who she was, he knew all about her, in fact he had created her in her mother’s womb and knew her before he laid the foundations of this earth.

And he knew the predestined moment of their encounter on this earth.

I love how that throughout the Bible, God initiates conversation with us.

From Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, the Prophets, and many others who were to be recipients of divine messages to the apostles and now to us through his word and that still small voice in which he uses to fill our hearts concerning his will.

Our lady was shocked by the request, as the Samaritians were usually shunned and she wasn’t in the habit of being spoken to by the Jews.

So, her first response was questioning could he really be asking her for a drinking considering who she was.

Aren’t we kinda like that sometimes while coming to God, the enemy trying his best to keep us from that well by filling our minds with his lies that God could never save someone like us, again the enemy is such a liar and that is all he will ever be.

Jesus answered her by telling her if she only knew the gift of God and who it was that asked water of her, she would instead ask water of him.

Clearly perplexed by this conversation, she then asked how he could draw water seeing that he had nothing to draw with and where even was this living water.

And as he explained the true living water is found in him and gave her details of her life that only God could have known, she understood and he revealed to her that he is indeed the Christ.

She left her waterpot, symbolizing that she had no intentions whatsoever of returning to the life she had only moments earlier.

Leaving that old life she went to tell everyone that she possibly could about this life changing encounter and to invite others to the living well, found only in Christ.

Sounds like the first female evangelist to me!

Here is where we are going to shift gears just a little.

When we are saved and we have tasted that heavenly water and known the peace and joy that comes with that first drink it can be especially challenging when later on in our journey we find ourselves in the middle of one of those valleys, tired, weary, and parched with not a drop of water in sight.

You’ll know, I’m all about the mountains and valleys, henceforth the tagline verse of this Blog.

The valleys are part of this life, but as I have noted in posts past, we receive spiritual fruit in those valleys that we absolutely will not produce any other way.

It is part of our journey; if we want to reach the mountains we have to go through the valley.

Sometimes it feels like we dwell only in valleys and have forgotten what being on the last mountaintop we had visited even felt like.

I know it sounds counterproductive but just try to embrace that valley, find the fruits hidden there and the water hidden beneath those parched trails and you will reach. the mountain much faster.

The last thing we ever want to do while in a valley is to just sit down and set up camp there.

It is the spiritual place where we are most vulnerable to attacks and temptations that often come with that territory, as we wander tired, worn down and emotionally “at the end of our ropes.”

Our first task is to look for water, just as you would if stranded in the middle of nowhere.

We have to have water, and the well is certainly there but often the enemy is doing all he can to try to keep us from reaching it.
We grow tired in the digging and can quit and give up just as the water is on the verge of gushing forth.

I want to go to a passage that is in the reading for today, it is a picture-perfect mirror to how the enemy fights against our spiritual digging, be it through sickness, attack, or even through others discouraging us through their actions whether intentional or unintentional, it produces the same pain.

In this story, God had blessed Isaac in all that he has and in all that he did, and the Philistines became angry and jealous, so they decide to stop up his well, in this story we can mirror our own spiritual battles in the valley.

It was not just one well.

We can read his determination and how the Lord met him there in his battle for that water.

It was a process, but he persevered.

GENESIS 26:12-33: “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

And the man waxed great (prospered), and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and a great store of (many) servants: and the Philistines envied him.

For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth (dirt).

And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us, for thou art much mightier than we.

And Isaac departed thence (left that place), and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father called them.

And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

And the herdmen of Gerar did strive (argued) with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove (argued) with him.

And they digged another well, and strove (argued) for that also:  and he called the name of it Sitnah.

And he removed thence (left that place also) and digged another well; for they strove not (did not argue with him) and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham they father, fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed (descendants) for my servant Abraham’s sake.

And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent (camped) there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.

Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar and Ahuzzah one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing that ye hate me, and have sent me away from you (why are coming to me since you hate me and sent me away)?

And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee (you): and we said, Let there now be an oath betwixt (between) us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

That thou do us not hurt (harm), as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace; thou art (are) now the blessed of the LORD.

And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

And they rose up betimes (early) in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, we have found water.

And he called it Sheba, therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day.”

Before we get into all that, let’s think about the old term, “Dig In”, dig this, one of the meanings is: resist stubbornly, refuse to give in.

Digging down deeper and deeper, not giving up and refusing to quit until that water is found.

As we compare the mirroring of Isaacs journey to our own spiritual path, think about those Philistines, he was doing great under God’s blessings, but the Philistines, spiritual forces for us, just could not stand to see that happen.

So, they filled his well, as the had his father’s before, with dirt and that speaks for itself, jut the trash that the enemy throws in your way to try to stop the flow of God in your life.

We can also see the effect of grief in our own lives, as the Philistines stopped up the well after Abraham’s death.

And as it was with his father, we know that they will try to stop up anyone’s well.

Let’s look at the meanings of the names from our passage, as provided by trusty copilot.

Esek means contention or strife.

Sitnah means adversary (enemy) or opponent.

Rehoboth means to enlarge, spread out.

Gerar means a lodging place.

Sheba in Hebrew signifies oath or promise.

What a picture, that is exactly what we go through in those valleys, just as he was in a valley.

Strife, and contention from the adversary and those he works through, circumstances of life stopping up those wells.

He uses the valleys to enlarge our spiritual territory and grow us.

God gives us that lodging place, that place just to rest during our journey, his rest.

And we have his promise that he will be with us, always, every day and he will meet us in those dry places as we dig down, dig deeper.

Digging in searching for those wells, not giving up no matter how deep we must dig and when we hit water that journey, and all those suffering moments we endured will pale and be to us as nothing once met with the presence and peace of our Holy God.

Just think if Isaac had given up, said just stop digging boys after he’d been run off and sabotaged, the story would read very differently, remember, one of the many names for Jehovah God is The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Whatever valley you may in today, or maybe you are halfway up the next mountain, seek him and have a head start on the next climb.

Seek his presence, seek that living water, talk to him, pour out your heart, your hurts, your fears, not forgetting to also tell him all your dreams, hopes, and what you would love to find once you get out valley.

Pray with a trusted partner, I thank God for my prayer partner and if you are unable to reach someone, remember that the Spirit makes intercession for you, just as Jesus prayed for his disciples.

Surround yourself with music, even if you have to listen to on headphones or pods while with others but be careful and please do not think I am bashing popular Christian music, I am not.

But I do truly believe to achieve maximum efficiency we need scripture-based worship music that glorifies God, his goodness and his mercy.

So much of the modern Christian music is all about us and what we need in a Savior, quite contrary to the word of God.

And we really have to web search the beliefs of the artist to even know who we are listening to.

So much has been infiltrated and infected by false beliefs and candy Christianity and duets performed with people who are not even saved and spew filth every breath on their own recordings.

Like everything else, it’s become about the money and not remotely about God.

Again, I am not saying that applies to all popular Christian music, but after I was made aware myself, in my spirit, to just exactly what I was listening to, it was very enlightening.

Please just really listen to the lyrics, and web search them and ask yourself, does this glorify God, does it contain scripture, is it for his worship.

Dig in and keep digging until you reach the water of your breakthrough and find that he is right there waiting patiently for you, to encounter him in newness, with a fresh anointing where you will rest your soul preparing for the next climb.

Love & Peace! Thanks for reading, till next time.

Φλογιζω NBJ 2025/ Rev. N Brown Johnson