You Fill Me Up

And the woman said to Jesus..."Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst" John 4:15

I come to meet the Lord this new day as I gravitate towards Him and all He has to offer me with coffee, pen, journal and Bible in hand. Speak to me Lord with Your transforming Words...fill me up.

I come as a desert traveler on a dusty road seeking the source of refreshment that is so greatly valued from the thirst quenching water gathered at the well. This traveler today is so thankful for this thirst quenching Water that is available and needed to fill me up as I need Him to bring refreshing to my soul.

I am led in John 4 of a conversation between two people by the side of Jacob's well in the town of Samaria. One was a Samaritan woman who traveled to the well, performing her daily task of drawing water. The other was a Jewish man, tired from traveling, who sat down for a drink while making time to listen to her heart. The man, was Jesus, and He knew all that concerned this woman...her emptiness...the void in her heart and the countless times she was drinking from the waters 'of comfort' found in the world that only made her thirst yet again. He knew that the Water He came to give her would fill her empty heart and satisfy her and make her complete. He revealed Himself to her as the Messiah and she recognized her need of a Savior and she wanted the inward well of Living Water in her life.

Jesus too came to me and knew my emptiness and filled my heart with Himself many years ago. No past sins can stop our acceptance with Jesus if we humble ourselves before Him, believing in Him as Savior of the world. (John 4:27-42). Only He satisfies the thirsty soul. Jesus knew the water from Jacob's Well produced very short and temporary satisfaction. Whatever waters 'of comfort' we drink...we too will thirst again. How our soul so desperately needs and values the thirst quenching Living Water that was poured out at Calvary on the Cross...for salvation...and for everyday. This Living Water sustains us spiritually and fills our cup to overflowing.

As our Shepherd, we follow His leading as His sheep, listening to His voice as we drink in the scriptures that refresh and restore us. His staff protects us along the way and it directs our steps as we trust in the power of His Word and in the power of His Holy Spirit that is present in our lives.

The scriptures tell us of this remarkable and absolute truth, that God's redeeming grace towards us all despite our sin and our failures at keeping God's commands is yet extended towards all of mankind through salvation....and He gives us all that we need each day as we thirst after Him....how He is so eager to speak and meet us where we need to be met.

1 Corinthians 2:7 speaks of this glorious ministry we have been given, "But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, (10 commandments) was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at Moses because of the glory of his countenance (as he came down from the mountain after his encounter with God)....which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?"

The ministry of the Spirit, so indescribable to me this day as I think of how we were made to contain God. How my heart must find time to keep stayed on Him and cling to this eternal perspective as I walk along the path He has called me to walk. May I stop this new day to express gratitude to my Lord who stooped down and gathered the dust from the ground, mixing it with the water of His Holy Spirit to form a vessel of clay....that His Holy Spirit then chose to come and step into this vessel, my life, and fill it with the glory of God...His glory shinning even through our brokenness that His glory may be revealed! Jesus picks up the pieces and makes us whole, He then fills us over and over again as we thirst for Him. Jesus loves brokenness and this is good news for us all. He came for broken people, for this broken world, He was broken Bread so we could be made whole...He said "This is My body, broken for you" (1 Cor. 11:34)

Many have asked and I can only give God the glory, for without Him we cannot bear our share of sufferings. God is the one who strengthens us at the time for the difficult things we must face. Our responsibility is to cooperate with Him and trust Him no matter the cost. How I can only imagine how in this life how God is preparing us for ministries that lie beyond our understanding for all Eternity. God was preparing Randy and he went home in obedience to Christ and laid down his life for Christ's sake many years ago. He has joined the other saints who have gone before us. Many well known and lesser known but through their lives we all can continue to follow on the 'old paths' in tested confidence knowing the it is Christ who lives within us, fills us and guides our steps through His indwelling Spirit. With the help and leading of His Holy Spirit I continue to follow Randy's example and what we shared together; the greatest value of knowing Jesus Christ and serving Him with all our lives..and to continue to share this with our children, grandchildren and many other's...all whom God puts in my path.

One thing I am certain of, the Good Shepherd is fully present with me and He is nothing less than trustworthy. Such favor He gives towards us all. We do not deserve His merciful kindness. We offer nothing because our good works and righteous actions can never make us worthy. It is God alone who saves, supplies and sustains us. He initiates, loves, forgives, rewards and helps us from His unending supply....that fills us full.

"In the pathway of faith we come to learn....that both in the physical and spiritual realm, great pressure means great power. Although circumstances may bring us into the place of death, that need not spell disaster - for if we trust in the Lord and wait patiently, that simply provides an occasion for the display of His Almighty power" (L.B. Cowman)

Thank you Father for "pouring....floods upon the DRY ground" (Isaiah 44:3), for the indwelling of Your Holy Spirit, for Your love towards us, for anointing us, for putting Your Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing Your presence is with us now but also guaranteeing to us of the glory that is yet to come.... Your love will bring us Home.

Michelle A. Guerra