Empty Well
I don’t think much about water wells. Probably because I have never been without one. But if it weren’t for wells, we would have a lot less corn, a lot fewer cows, and my dishwasher wouldn’t work. They make land more usable and life more livable. And sometimes, wells run dry.
Water wells serve as a pretty good metaphor for our lives.
Sometimes in life, we are just rocking it. We’re pumping at 1,500 gallons a minute. No matter what happens, we can make it work.
Other times in life, we are just not. We are like dry wells. Life keeps pumping us for more and more and more, and we don’t have it to give.
Once upon a time, there was a man named Elijah. He was a prophet of God in a time when things between God and His people were pretty ugly. People hated him, but Elijah was rocking it, and he had been for a long time. In the book of First Kings Chapter 18 in the Bible, Elijah had just come from what was probably the greatest moment of his entire life. But life kept happening, and he had nothing left to give. So not long after that, he found himself hiding from the world out in the desert, curled up on the shady side of some scrub brush, and praying to God.
But in that moment, he did not pray some amazing, poetic, perfect prayer. He prayed to God and asked to die. In that moment, Elijah was a dry well. He had nothing left to give.
So he fell asleep. A while later, he was woken up by nothing less than an angel from Heaven. God had sent him dinner, right there in the desert. So Elijah ate, then went back to sleep. Then God sent him dinner again. Then God essentially sent him on a 5 week vacation that culminated with a meeting with God himself.
And in all of that, God never says one harsh word to him. He simply cares for Elijah and gives him what he needs.
I have learned a life-changing truth from this moment in Biblical history.
Sometimes, it's ok to be a dry well.
Sometimes people just don’t have anything left to give. That's ok. It makes for a great time to stop for a while and focus on the One who can give to you everything you need.
