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The Christian Palette, Issue #12 -- Never Run Dry!
September 26, 2015
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Never Run Dry!

Do you sometimes feel dry, wrung out and useless? I do.

In that mood, every idea I come up with seems stupid. A lack of creative thought sends me into a downward spiral of helplessness, until I can’t think of anything that would qualify as an idea, let alone a good one!

These dry spells come on suddenly, not necessarily triggered by any specific circumstance. Some days I just feel blah!

Perhaps you can identify with that.

What then? How do you move forward?


"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." Isa 12:2,3



God is my source. The refreshing I need lies in Him.

Refusing to succumb to fear, I choose to remind myself of His strength, which He promises can be mine. He will give me the song to create something worthy. He promises me springs of provision, living water, somewhere.

I will with joy and the deliberate absence of fear, lower my bucket there to draw out what I desperately need. Life-giving, thirst-quenching water is available in the wells of salvation!

“Yeshua” is the Hebrew word used for “salvation” in this verse. This wonderful life-sustaining resource is available in Jesus. The word used for “wells” implies fountains or springs, something bubbling up from hidden depths, unseen to a casual observer.

Drawing this precious water is strenuous and not for the faint of heart. Effort is required to reach the deep secret places where it springs forth. Those who only search the surface will never discover it.

When creating in a dry spell, pressing past my sense of emptiness is necessary to reach those hidden places where life-giving water awaits. So I get to work, scribbling, drawing, splashing paint on paper or squishing clay! You can too. Do whatever it takes to engage in the process of making art.

Do it in faith.

It is the bucket, the necessary tool, to draw with. Without faith, we will remain helplessly stuck.

Jesus always comes to my aid when I trust in His faithfulness. God has a reason for the ability that He has bestowed upon me. That assurance is the container I lower to find the hidden springs of water.

Then I loosen my grasp and use a long rope.

Hold the process lightly. I refuse to be too harsh with my own initial awful efforts. Listening to His voice on the inside, I yield to its slightest prompting and maintain an attitude of exploration. My early efforts may need to be tossed, but I refuse to worry about that. I am now descending, deeper and deeper into the dark mysterious depths searching for the springs.


I once descended into the depths of the City of David, in darkness, before suddenly hearing the roar of the Gihon springs. When its welcome sound reached me, I was encouraged to press on, well before my eyes saw it, or my feet touched its chilly waters.

The abundant springs were there all the time, hundreds of feet below common paths, trod on by others unaware of its powerful gushing presence right below their feet!

The video gives you an idea of how challenging accessing these waters were and how plentiful they still are thousands of year later, gurgling forth from the rock!



How like living waters that God tells us to draw out with joy - adequate for our every need, creative or otherwise!

But how do I find that joy on a blah day? I recall His amazing goodness to me in answered prayers, favor, protection and provision. Invariably praise bubbles out from within begging for expression. I've reached the waters!

Even today the waters of the Gihon fill visitors with awe, deep in the earth, sweet, pure and plentiful.

I daresay that those who chiseled their way to it were more than satisfied upon its discovery!

Praise is the effortless response to the discovery of God’s goodness for providing me unfailing waters, which were there all along, just waiting for me to draw upon in faith!


Repentance
Joy Unspeakable

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