A woman was on the verge of the most mind-blowing blessing ever and she almost said no! Well it wasn't a "no" per se but she had some mental reservations.
The woman said, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where can you get this water that gives life? Jacob, our ancestor, gave this well to us. He, his sons, and his sheep and goats and cows all drank its water. Are you greater than Jacob?' John 4:11,12
[Click here to see how water is drawn from a deep well with a bucket. I don't own this video]
This woman's story is not unique to her - it's your story and my story. We are on the verge of the most mind-blowing manifestation of God's glory ever. It will wreck our lives for the better and then spill out of us and wreck our world too. Of course, we want to say yes but we can have mental and emotional reservations too.
Reservation #1 - "The well is deep"
Have you ever felt like this before? You know the blessing of God is real - it's just that it feels a million miles away. You know the water is real but the well is deep. You know the presence of God is real - it's just that it feels a million miles away. What do you do when you know the blessing of God is real but it doesn't feel within your arms reach? You can feel it's existence but can't experience it's reality. The well is deep. I can see the water but the water is far away.
Reservation #2 - "There's no bucket"
Have you ever felt like this before? You know the blessing of God is real - it's just that you have nothing to bring it from 'there' to 'here.' You know the water is real but there's no bucket. You know the presence of God is real - it's just that you have no idea how to bring it to the here and now. What do you do when you know the blessing of God is real but it feels like you don't know how to access it? You can feel it's existence but can't experience it's reality. There's no bucket.
Reservation #3 - "Can I get this?"
Have you ever felt like this before? You know the blessing of God is real - it's just that you don't know whether it's for you. You know the water is real, but is the water for you? You know the presence of God is real - it's just that you're not sure if it's for you? What do you do when you know the blessing of God is real but it feels like you don't know if you're included in the blessing? Does the blessing have your name on it ?You can feel it's existence but can't experience it's reality.
Reservation #4 - "Are you greater than Jacob"
Have you ever felt like this before? You know the blessing of God is real - it's just that the evidence of everything else is bigger than the evidence of the blessing. Jacob's well is there for you to see and touch and feel. Jacob's well has created thousands of years of mental and emotional memories of being the blessing. So surely my best days are behind me and and not ahead of me? I mean, what can be greater than Jacob's well? What do you do when it's more convenient and comfortable to rest in what is familiar than to put my hope in the blessed unknown?
Have you ever said to yourself - "If only I didn't have these doubts and reservations and feelings and confusions!"
My friend you're not going to miss out on the blessing. The presence of doubt, mental reservation and confusion is not an indication that you're going to miss out. The good news is Jesus is greater than all that.
You may not be looking for it but the blessing is looking for you. In fact it's already on the inside of you. You are on the verge of the most mind-blowing manifestation of God's glory ever. It will wreck your life for the better and then spill out of you and wreck your world too.
"Yes I want to believe all that but what do I do with all these feelings?"
Be at ease. Relax. The blessing was God's idea - not yours. It's God's work, not yours.
"But even if we don't feel at ease, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything." 1 John 3:20 (CEV)