The Farmhouse

The Farmhouse

"Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst ....... it
will be in him a well of water springing up to everlasting life."
John 4:14

Situated on 188 beautiful acres in Western New York, "the farmhouse", as it was affectionately referred to by those of us who lived there, was a six bedroom house that had seen better days. When it was built in the early 1900's, it must have been a wonderful place to raise a family with two barns, wooded trails, a horse pasture and a stream that ran through the property. And the west facing front porch was a haven for a summer night's relaxation, no matter how bad the day had been.

We moved into the farmhouse, located just outside Lima, New York, in 1974, to find a house without central heat (a woodburning stove was the only source of heat) and with no running water. That meant pumping water out the well in the morning, heating the water on the stove, getting cleaned up for work at Kodak (suit and tie type work), and making the 45 minute drive into Rochester.

That routine worked well until the pump broke and we were relegated to drawing water out of the well by lowering a bucket down into the water and hauling it back up. In the winter, ice would form all around the well from water splashing out of the bucket making the daily routine quite an adventure.

But there was an advantage! When I came to the Lord and started to read His Word, I knew exactly what Isaiah 12:3 meant when it said:

"Therefore with joy shall you draw
water out of the wells of salvation"

And when the woman at the well told Jesus "Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep" (John 4:11), my memory of the day that the rope broke, the bucket fell into the well and we were left with "nothing to draw with" was painfully restored.

The analogies in scripture that center around wells range from those mentioned above to the example of digging wells found in Numbers 21:17-18 and the principle that our life experiences become wells to refresh others as they go through similar experiences as Psalm 84:6 teaches us.

The encouragement today is that there are wells in the Lord for you to draw water from, wells to let your bucket down into and receive the refreshing you need, wells of stength-giving life for you to draw from, and wells of the Holy Spirit that will release unspeakable joy in your life. We draw from those wells in the quiet times of waiting upon the Lord and when we are able to get lost in worship, finding that place of being alone with God and, in His presence, receiving all we need. The farmhouse didn't have running water but it had a well that, despite the work, met our every need. God has a well available for you. Sink your bucket down deep in the well of God's love, grace and mercy and receive from Him today.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church