BY PASTOR BRANDON YOUNG
I was reading and studying Isaiah chapter 12 and verse 3 caught my attention. It says, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” I could not get the phrase wells of salvation off my mind, and I begin to research wells and their significance. First, it would be impossible to discuss wells without mentioning the wonderful substance inside them that sustains all life: WATER! Let’s think for a moment about the molecular structure of water. Water is a trinity of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, each essential for the physical and chemical properties of the water molecule. Water can exist in three physical forms: liquid, solid, and gas. This is no coincidence. Water, a triatomic species, brings, sustains, and binds life together, a parallel to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. God is in every fiber of life.
God breathed into man and man became a living soul. Whether mankind realizes it or not, the breath of Almighty God resides within us all. Below the surface of the earth, water is moving. A person can walk over the water source and never realize it is there. To place a well in the ground, a solid wall of brick, stone, or wood must be in place so the well does not collapse in on itself. The well must be deep enough to reach the water. It must then be maintained so the water does not get polluted, does not stagnate, and stays fresh. Oftentimes an Artesian well will form; in this case, the water flowing up from the rock below is under such pressure, it overflows by itself and does not require pumps or buckets. It will spring up! The Bible says in John 7:38, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” Once we believe on Jesus and he drills down into our cold and stony hearts, a well will form and living water will spring up and flow freely. This water will be transformational to those around us.
Salvation comes when we realize the answer to life’s problems are not found externally, but rather internally. Many individuals today search for something to soothe the longing in their heart when in all actuality, the answer is already there waiting to be excavated by the Master. Salvation happens when we allow Christ to come to the surface of our lives. It is alarming how close the answer is to all humanity, but many never seem to know it. God is often an untapped resource. We become a well of Salvation when we allow Jesus Christ to drill into our hearts and allow that living water and breath of God hid under layers of bedrock to come to the surface.
We live in dry times when everyone seems to be seeking something to quench their spiritual thirst. Many folks come to the church and to us looking for something to refresh their souls, but often they don’t find anything but a dry well. Some wells look promising on the outside but contain no water. Wells that have a form of Godliness but deny the power thereof. Jeremiah says in 2:13, “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” When we try to do things our way, we will soon become completely empty. 2 Peter 2:17 says, “These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.” We need to make sure to maintain our spiritual well and examine our lives daily to ensure we have the pure living water springing up. Before you drink from someone’s well you better check the water source!
God’s purpose in his children being a well is two-fold. First, we may have a constant supply of Christ’s life giving water to sustain us personally, and secondly, we may have a constant supply of Christ’s life giving water to draw out for others. Listen to the words of Jesus in John 14:12, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” We should be a source of help for those around us!
Jesus was constantly drawing out the life giving water of salvation and so should we. How do we draw this living water out and give it to other people? The water must be drawn out at the “Mouth” of the well. The only way to get the water out is to open our “Mouths.” Proverbs 10:11 says, “The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life:…” Proverbs 18:4 says, “The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.” When Jesus met the woman at the well in Samaria, He drew out living water from within Himself through the words He spoke. In his words, she found eternal life. We must realize that from the abundance of our hearts, our mouths will speak.
Whatever is in us will flow out to those around us! We must make sure that what comes out is beneficial to those listening. Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” A well of salvation will minister grace and lift up the name of Jesus to a world needing a drink of living water!
(The Solution Column is provided by Pastor Brandon Young of Harmony Free Will Baptist Church, Hampton)