First Lady Ingrid Shanklin

Rename Your Well

Genesis 26: 15-22 says:
Now the Philistines have stopped up all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth.  And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we." Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.  And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham.  He called them by names which his father had called them.  Also Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there.  But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying "the water is ours."  So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also.  So he called its name Sitnah.  And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it.  So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, "For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."

I recently heard a message preached from this text.  To be honest, I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around the Word.  I struggled to comprehend what was being said and lost my focus several times.  "Rename your well," was the instruction for the altar call.  Several people responded immediately, I remained in my seat perplexed.  "How can I rename my well if I don't know what its original name was?"  As I sat, tears began streaming down my face.  I knew this request was significant, spiritually significant; and I sat clueless.  Feeling like I'd missed out on something really huge.

We learned that in our day, our "Philistines" are whatever has filled our personal wells with earth.  In Isaac's day, a well needed to be at least 150 feet deep.  This depth was necessary to insure that the climate and atmosphere around it did not dry the well up.  Hmmm, what was my Philistine?  I quickly scribbled "Lord, how do I know the name of my well? Please tell me!" in my journal.  It was like a 911 call to heaven for the answer to an unexpected pop quiz.

The names of the wells became significant, "Esek" means strife, "Sitnah" means shame and "Rehoboth" means the Lord has made room for me.  We are to get through the strife and the shame in our lives, keep digging our wells until we get to the place where there is room for us.  More of the picture that was once distorted in my mind, began to become clear.  Then, the Lord spoke to me,  the name of my well is "Return to your first love."

Whoa, what a name for a well that was until that time unnamed for me. I had no idea how to dig that well, and wasn't too sure I even wanted to begin.  How far would you actually have to dig to get to your first love?  I bristled at the thought.  If I had to get back to it, there was no telling how long I had been gone from it.  UGH!

Then, in my time with the Lord, He showed me a picture of the earth the Philistines had shoveled over my well.  The last two years have been especially difficult for me, and instead of passing the many tests set before me; I have failed many of them miserably.  Since July 2005, the Lord has been breaking all forms of religion off of my life.  This has caused me to have to surrender control over most situations in my life.  My cute little religious formulas no longer worked or produced the same effects.

I was led into territory that was grossly unfamiliar with situations and trouble to match.  I was on a virtual rollercoaster all the time. One I feared would sling me off the side at any moment, plunging me to certain destruction below.  I would take on fear, anxiety and an unhealthy dose of doubt over a course of time. Shock, disgust and disappointment would also be added to the mix. It got to the point where I began to believe that the Lord would ultimately fail me, as so many in my midst had done.

I would begin to exhibit behaviors that would testify to a lack of belief and debilitating fear: hoarding, people pleasing, constant worry, anger etc.  My well was filled to the brim with earth and there was not a drop of refreshing water anywhere in my life.  Instead of being refreshed, I was parched and dry in the weary land of my life.  I was able to see it clearly for the first time as I sent up my desperate plea to God.

Rev. 2:3 says:  and you have persevered and have patience and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love.  Remember therefore from where you have fallen, repent and do the first works.....

I recognized that this was very true of me.  I cannot recall when I was doing anything out of "first love" for Jesus. It has become performance, acting on cue, simply what I do, knee-jerk at best. My heart of love has become hardened by the seemingly unfair situations in life. I have become untrusting, suspicious, harsh, critical and lacking in compassion.  I am a prime candidate to dig a new well.

I prayed and asked the Lord this morning to unearth my well.  To drive out the Philistines and allow me to dig down deep.  Deep enough that the climate and atmosphere of my life doesn't dry up my well again.  "Lord I need fresh wind and fresh fire."  "Forgive me for my sin, for allowing the circumstances to harden me, and take my focus off of you."  I prayed then and know now that I will have to revisit that place to get deeper into my new well.

I am asking God to give me back my first love, that I may *GIVE my love for Jesus first place in my life, that I would COMMIT myself both emotionally and intellectually to Him, that I would AVOID lukewarmness, STIR UP my zeal for the Lord and REPENT QUICKLY whenever the Spirit convicts me of sin.  If I stay close and refuse to allow the time, season and circumstance to define me, I will enjoy a wellspring of refreshing from my OWN well for a long time to come.

I ask you...what are the Philistines in your life? What has filled your personal well with earth?  Start today to unearth your well and as fresh water springs forth...I challenge you to dig deep, drive out the Philistines in your life and rename your well!

*this quote taken from The New Spirit Filled Life Bible,  Truth in Action, Through Revelation.  Jack Hayford.