Monday September 14, 2009
THE WELL OF HIS WISDOM Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that he was making and baptizing more disciples than John. (Actually, Jesus was not baptizing people. His disciples were.) So he left the Judean countryside and went back to Galilee. Jesus had to go through Samaria. He arrived at a city in Samaria called Sychar. Sychar was near the piece of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's Well was there. Jesus sat down by the well because he was tired from traveling. The time was about six o'clock in the evening. John 4:1-6 Why in the world would Jesus' baptizing more converts that John threaten the Pharisees? Well, I imagine that following John's baptism many religious people returned to the synagogues ready to get busy working for God following their repentance. However, once touched by Jesus and receiving a deeper understanding of God's ways, Jesus' followers turned against religion and started seeking God. That was and is radical and totally unacceptable by religious people. I believe in this passage of scripture that we get a rare glimpse of Jesus' humanity. He too grew weary even though He knew He was doing the Father's will. Although He had all the power of God within Him, His physical strength had limitations. He was tired and He was thirsty. He was experiencing two common physical needs each and every one of us experience regularly. Yet, maybe there was more to His weariness that day. He knew the history of these Samaritans. He knew how people felt about them. He knew His disciples would not approve of what was about to take place, but the ministry was more important than their approval or disapproval. Besides, they had many more lessons to learn. Aren't we much like that today? We know something God has called us to do and we respond like Jesus rather than like Jonah - we move forward into God's plan knowing the next step will be difficult. We take a deep breath, let out a long sigh, and take a break before our encounter. In essence, we take a few moments to stop, look, and listen for God's okay. Serving God in the counseling ministry can be emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausting. Allowing someone to share their gut-wrenching stories with you can be emotionally draining because God allows us to feel their pain. Jesus knows this very well. He knows what is about to take place and He knows the importance of being spiritually prepared for what is ahead. Yet, He is not leaning on His own understanding of the situation He is totally trusting His Father for the situation at hand. As His disciples, we must be prayerful about every step we take in our journey. Every hurting person we encounter needs to know that we are not leaning on our own understanding, but on the understanding and counsel of the Holy Spirit. We listen with spiritual ears tuned into the very heart of God and apply His wisdom, not our understanding, to their situation. Oh, He may ask us to share from our history, but we must lean on Him. His wisdom removes our weariness - just as it did for Jesus! Father, we come to You for refreshment. We want to reach out to those who are hurting, but we need a fresh touch from You in order to do that. We sit by the well of Your wisdom found in Your Word. As we sit by this well, we trust You to provide every word we will need for ministry. We trust You, to help us prove trustworthy to accomplish Your will this day. O. Addison Gethers e-mail address [email protected] [email protected] twitter URL http//:twitter.com/OAddisonGethers Messenger contact window live/msn messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS rs --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/dbilg?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
