When The Well Runs Dry

WHEN THE WELL RUNS DRY

JOHN 4:10

In the book A View From the Zoo, Gary Richmond tells about the birth of a giraffe:

The first thing top emerge are the baby giraffe's front hooves and head. A few minutes later the little newborn is hurled forth, falls ten feet, and lands on it's back.

Within seconds, he rolls to an upright position with his legs tucked under his body. And from this position he considers the world for the first time and shakes off the last remains of the birthing fluid from his eyes and ears.

The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she positions herself directly over her calf. She waits about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable thing...She swings her long leg outward and kicks her baby, so that it is sent sprawling head over heels.

When it doesn't get up, the violent process is repeated over and over again. The struggle to rise is momentous. As the baby calf grows tired, the mother kicks it again to stimulate its efforts...Finally the calf stands for the first time on its wobbly legs.

Then the mother giraffe does the most remarkable thing...She kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, baby giraffes must be able to get up as quickly as possible to stay with the herd where there is safety.

Lions, hyenas, leopards and other predators all enjoy eating young giraffes, and they'd get it too if the mother didn't teach her calf to get up quickly and get with it.

As this baby giraffe found out LIFE CAN BE TOUGH...and all of us face the inevitable time when life just plain gets difficult. At these times discouragement takes hold of us...our judgments are impaired...our self esteem is hanging in the balance. The well has run dry and there seems to be no refreshment for us.

What are we to do then? In the fourth chapter of John, Jesus has something to say about this...**Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman at the well...READ v. 10...v. 13 14.

Here Jesus clearly says that to those who yield themselves to Him...He will bring something which will be like a living fountain of waters... a fountain that will never run dry.

Wouldn't it be great to find a spring or fountain like this? Wouldn't it be great if we could find something that would give us the strength and the stamina to fill us up and give us life...to keep us moving on in a powerful, dynamic way...instead of just barely surviving?

That is exactly what Jesus has promised us. And this morning I want to try, in simple language, to show what this immeasurable well can be to us...because I find that so many people are coming to a place where they need to understand that we are not out there alone...

that even in the midst of difficult and trying circumstances God has given us all we need to be victorious...to be overcomers. When the well runs dry and the resources for living seem to have failed us... we can look beyond ourselves and our circumstances and move into a greater perspective.

It's almost funny how we worry and suffer because of our outlook and perceptions. Years ago a Scotsman arrived in Liverpool where he was to leave by ship for America. The man had very limited funds, and he decided that he would economize on food during the trip so he would have more money when he reached New York.

So he went to a small store and bought a good supply of crackers and cheese that would get him through the days at sea. But as the trip went on the sea air made him very hungry. And to make matters worse, the dampness of the air made his crackers soft and his cheese hard. He was almost desperate with hunger.

What really done him in was the fragrant whiff of food on a tray a steward was carrying to another passenger. Right then he made up his mind that he would have one good meal, even though it would take several of his shillings.

So he waited until the steward returned and asked him how much it would cost to go to the dining room and get a dinner. He asked the Scotsman if he had a ticket for the passage, and was shown his ticket for passage on the ship.

When the steward saw it he responded by saying that the meals were included in the price of the ticket. He could have gone to the dining room and eaten as much as he liked every meal time.

Sounds kind of foolish...but spiritually we often fall into the same scenario. When we find ourselves in difficult situations we often limit our vision to the problem...not the help and the resources that are ours as Christians.