It's Not In The Well

There's an old country song that bemoans the fact that the singer has been "looking for love in all the wrong places."   I'm not particularly a fan of that song but I hear it from time to time and the last time it came on the radio it got me to wondering what else we could be looking for in the wrong places.  How many times have we looked to others for validation ... searched for solace and comfort in a bottle ... looked in the mirror to measure our self-worth?   Where do we go when we're looking for some much-needed peace and relief from the turmoil or consequences of our own or someone else's bad choices?

In the Bible we read the familiar story of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at a water well.  She had come to draw water ... where else would you look if you needed water in those days?   But Jesus knew she was longing for something more ... and He had just what she needed. (John 4:6-30)

But it wasn't in the well!

I've learned that many times the most obvious place is the "wrong place."   Multiple relationships won't fill the need for love.  Praise and acknowledgement, although nice to have, aren't what we need for a healthy self-esteem.  Plenty of money in the bank only gives a false sense of security ... it could all disappear in the blink of an eye.   Shopping, gambling, collecting (a.k.a. hoarding), eating, drinking, surrounding ourselves with "things" or people ... in excess ... are all some of the "wrong places" we can find ourselves looking for what God is holding out to us as a free gift.  I'm learning to look to Him first ... and when I do, I save myself so much heartache, disappointment and distress. 

What are the needs in your life today?   I  don't want to keep running like so many do in search of what I think will quench the thirst of my heart  ... only to die by the well having never tasted the life-giving water that renews my mind, refreshes my soul and strengthens my spirit. 

Just like that day in Samaria, Jesus is still sitting by the well with everything we need to go out and live our lives with purpose and joy!   
      What we're looking for is not in the well!

Hello, my name is ...

The other day as I was driving through town a song came on the radio.  It began with these words,

"Hello, my name is Regret ... Hello, my name is Defeat." As I listened to the song, I thought of all the labels we pick up through the years.  Some we wear proudly.

Christian

loving spouse

homemaker

breadwinner

soccer mom

teacher

successful

energetic

 

Others, not so much ...

 

addict   

divorced

overweight

over the hill

failure

invisible

depressed

 

 

 

Some of these labels we have affixed to ourselves.  Others have been pinned on us by those we love, those we work with, those who think they know us, or maybe don't know us at all.   We don't like some of these labels and yet ...
 

                                                         we still wear them.

 

In my office, I would often hand my client a package of these labels and have them write on them all the words they would use to describe themselves as well as the words others had used for them.   Most of them would be covered with sticky "My Name Is" labels by the time they were through.  I even had one precious young lady ask for a second package of labels.  She had them on her arms, her neck, her face and in her hair when she finished.  I led her to a mirror and had her look at herself and asked her if she really wanted to be known by all of those "names."   She could barely see for all the labels covering her beautiful face.  Some of the words already beginning to run as her tears flowed. 

  

I gave her a few minutes then asked her to begin removing the labels she no longer wanted to wear.  In a few minutes she only had two or three labels she had decided to keep.  I handed her one more label and asked her to write on it one word she thought God would use to describe her.  It only took a minute for her to write out the word "princess."   Yes!  This young woman had begun to realize that as a child of the King she was definitely royalty.  

 

What are some of the labels you're wearing?

Who put them there ... you or someone else?

Are there labels that you're tired of wearing?

 

We each have the power to choose the labels we want to be known by.  Don't let someone else define who you are.  We don't have to be known by our birthdate or the number on our bathroom scales.  We don't have to become simply the sum of our missteps or bad choices.   

 

Sometimes, even the good labels can become burdensome if we're wearing too many ... or the wrong ones.  Is your family missing you because you're involved in too many community or church activities?   Are you coaching soccer practice when you'd rather be teaching piano?  

Why not take a few minutes and examine the labels that have been assigned to you ... and start peeling off the ones you no longer want to wear.  Some come off easily ... others may leave a sticky residue or little pieces that have to be scraped off with some effort.  But we are free to choose the labels we will be known by. And in the end ... the only labels that really matter are the ones applied by our Maker ...

Redeemed ... Forgiven ... Worthy ... Precious ... Loved

We have the power to become everything God created us to be .. to fulfill our destiny ... and live our lives with purpose and joy!
 





  I've been saved

I've been changed

I have been set free!

Amazing Grace is the song I sing.
Hello, my name is Child of the One True King!

 



Click here to listen to the song, "Hello, My Name Is" by Matthew West.