In continuing our series on ‘The Wells of Salvation’, we looked tonight at the fact that in order to draw water from the well of salvation (Is 12:3), we need two basic things: a rope and a bucket. If we are to access the living water of God (Jn 7:38, Ezek 47:1-12), we need to have these two pieces of equipment so that we can actually access and carry the water out of the well.

The Rope of Faith

Faith is like the rope needed to wind the bucket up and down into the well. Heb 11:6 reminds us that faith is essential to please God. Faith is not just what we need at the start of our Christian journey; we have to continually walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Cor 5:7) Salvation is God’s free gift to us (Eph 2:8-9), but so often, we allow our rope to become frayed and torn, like the man who longed to see Jesus heal his son but who wavered in unbelief. (Mark 9:24)

Jesus reminds us that faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains (Matt 17:20). Faith means believing what God says is true and applying that to our lives, as Abraham did (Rom 4:20-21). Faith is like a muscle that needs to be exercised. Jesus said that ‘whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.’ (John 14:12) God wants to stretch our faith, encouraging us to believe that He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. (Eph 3:20) We were encouraged to take home a tiny mustard seed and ponder what God can do with even the smallest amounts of faith. We need to be seeking God for what’s next, for what He wants us to do and where He wants to lead us.

The Bucket of Provision

We also need a bucket to draw water from a well! We are essentially the ‘bucket’ into which God pours His Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor 6:19, 2 Cor 4:7), but so often, our bucket – like Henry’s in the song ‘There’s A Hole In My Bucket’ – has a lid on it (fear and worry meaning that there is no way God’s living water can get into the bucket!) or a hole in it (as doubt, indecision and sin all corrode the bucket, leaving us with no water.) Only as we lower an empty bucket into the well can we hope to draw fresh water out. We need to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18) so that we can live the life God wants us to live.