2015 - A Fresh Flow From An Old Well

My word from God for 2015 is:

New

 - made or become fresh; being other than the former or old; recently born, built, or created.

(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/new)

God reinforced this theme as I participated in the New Year's Eve Praise Party live streaming from Elevation church.

Pastor Steven Furtick pointed out from Genesis 26:12-18 that the wells spoken about here:...18And Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the names by which his father had called them....had been blocked by foreign objects. There had never been a shortage of water.

Just a stopped up well that needed the dirt to be removed to flow again.

A fresh flow.

With its original names.

What a perfect illustration of my heart over the past 17 years or so.

I remember so well a time when the springs of living water just poured out from my heart.

A time when I felt so alive.

Then crisis upon crisis leaving no resources for processing or healing happened.

Like the dirt the Philistines used to block the flow of that water, Satan pushed that wound deep inside where it festered but lay underneath the daily grind of survival.

Cycles of depression left me paralyzed and shrunken.

But in the past 2 years, pressure started to build with another set of crisis upon crisis and the pain buried with the old wounds started to leak.

Tears flowed unchecked.

I found myself hiding from social interaction lest I make anyone uncomfortable.

In recent months, God allowed me to see the devastation that had been left.

I had to deal with anger and forgiveness and release to God.

Slowly my heart is beginning to feel light again, free from the dirt that blocked His promises, His blessing.

I want to see and know and feel that welling and outpouring from the Source:

I want to see it overflow and pour down and refresh those who need a drink of living water.

I remember clearly when I was a young teenager hiking up a mountain.

It was hot and my throat was parched.

Suddenly we came upon flowing water.

I was puzzled when I saw my leader bend down and drink from it.

Wasn't it dirty?

But then he invited us to taste it.

I was young enough then to be adventurous.

And so I drank.

Wow. The eternal and temporal collided.

Cool. Sweet. Pure. Refreshing.

I have never tasted any water like that.

Ever.

Flowing freely over rocks, dirt, branches, yet purer than any distilled water.

This is my vision for 2015.

To allow Christ in me to well up and pour out.

No more stoppages.

That new, fresh flow is coming from the same old heart-well that was stopped up for so long.

Renewed. Redeemed. Restored.

Like the grave clothes that Jesus ordered to be taken off Lazarus when he called him out of the tomb, I am shedding what has bound me.

It has not happened in one swoop, but it will be a process, a gradual process of lightening the load and digging out the toxins.

Already, I have a new song in my heart.

And His Word, which is living water, affirms the work He has started, adding length and breadth:

Psalm 40:3

And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many shall see and fear (revere and worship) and put their trust and confident reliance in the Lord.

Isaiah 43:19

Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it andwill you not give heed to it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 58:8

Then shall your light break forth like the morning, and your healing (your restoration and the power of a new life) shall spring forth speedily; your righteousness (your rightness, your justice, and your right relationship with God) shall go before you [conducting you to peace and prosperity], and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Isaiah 60:1

Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you—rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!

2Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

Colossians 3:10

And have clothed yourselves with the new [spiritual self], which is [ever in the process of being] renewed and remolded into [fuller and more perfect knowledge upon] knowledge after the image (the likeness) of Him Who created it.

Revelation 21:5

And He Who is seated on the throne said, See! I make all things new. Also He said, Record this, for these sayings are faithful (accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy) and true (genuine).

(Linking up with Faith Barista Beloved Brews:

Farther Along (by Josh Garrels)

Farther along we’ll know all about it
Farther along we’ll understand why
Cheer up my brothers, live in the sunshine
We’ll understand this, all by and by

Tempted and tried, I wondered why
The good man died, the bad man thrives
And Jesus cries because he loves em’ both
We’re all cast-aways in need of ropes
Hangin’ on by the last threads of our hope
In a house of mirrors full of smoke
Confusing illusions I’ve seen

Where did I go wrong, I sang along
To every chorus of the song
That the devil wrote like a piper at the gates
Leading mice and men down to their fates
But some will courageously escape
The seductive voice with a heart of faith
While walkin’ that line back home

So much more to life than we’ve been told
It’s full of beauty that will unfold
And shine like you struck gold my wayward son
That deadweight burden weighs a ton
Go down into the river and let it run
And wash away all the things you’ve done
Forgiveness alright

Chorus

Still I get hard pressed on every side
Between the rock and a compromise
Like the truth and pack of lies fightin’ for my soul
And I’ve got no place left go
Cause I got changed by what I’ve been shown
More glory than the world has known
Keeps me ramblin’ on

Skipping like a calf loosed from its stall
I’m free to love once and for all
And even when I fall I’ll get back up
For the joy that overflows my cup
Heaven filled me with more than enough
Broke down my levee and my bluff
Let the flood wash me

And one day when the sky rolls back on us
Some rejoice and the others fuss
Cause every knee must bow and tongue confess
That the son of god is forever blessed
His is the kingdom, we’re the guests
So put your voice up to the test
Sing Lord, come soon