The Wind and the Wells

Rivka. The Wind and the Wells. We have to leave. I'll be back. We will come again. I think that's enough, Noah. Mother, are you all right? Just a little tired. She needs rest. Come on Mother. We'll get you home and to bed. Such a fuss. I'm sorry. Perhaps I shouldn't have gone. Don't worry about that now, Laila. We'll get you to bed. Mother? What happened? We were visiting Amira again. I think the walk may have been too much for your mother. You know Mother shouldn't push herself. Why didn't you go in her place? I was washing clothes, I didn't even know they were going! Girls, please stop your bickering. I wanted to go. Why does she keep going out to Amira's? She will kill herself helping them. There's no end to their sickness, but instead of dying themselves, they will kill her. Sara, don't say such a thing. It's true and you know it. Someone has to stop this. What is wrong with Amira's family anyway? Sara's right. They are always sick. Your mother thought their well water was polluted. She told them to come into town to draw water. And they took her advice. They stopped drinking the water from their well a couple of months ago, and their health improved immediately. But then.... But then they said it was too far and too much trouble... and they began to drink their own well water again. And they all became sick again. Why should you waste your time and energy on such foolish, stupid people? She doesn't understand. It is her love for you... that blinds her. Don't worry about Sara. Just rest. Drink some water. Now sleep. Sleep. Come child. Father left you in charge. You need to stop mother from going there. Stop Mother? Do you really think she's going to listen to me? If she thinks God has told her to do something, she's going to do it regardless of what I say. That's not true. Mother listens to you. I told her not to go to those weekly meetings at Rivka's house, but... Let me help you with that. she goes anyway. And so do you and Mariam. That's different. Oh, you think so? I'm sorry about what Dawud said. I remember when my husband's cousin first approached him about becoming a tax collector for the Romans. Haroon was worried about what taking that job would do to his reputation. That's why he came to work here instead of staying in our home in Tiberius. Your brother has his reasons to dislike me. Sara said I would find you here. Oh! Noura! How are you? Well. And you? Fine. And you, Mariam? Mother is ill again. Oh I am sorry. But the rest of us are well. Thank you. I came to ask you some questions Rivka. Questions? About... The Holy Spirit. Oh! Easy questions. You know I never ask you easy questions. I already understand everything that is easy. Of course. Why don't you sit here while I help Mariam hang out the washing? There's a nice breeze. This, this Holy Spirit you've spoken of, what is the meaning of it? Oh, well... Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He told His disciples that He would always be present with those who believe in Him. Not physically, but that His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, would be with us. And so we sense His presence with us even though we cannot see Him, like we sense the wind. See how the clothes are... moving and flowing in the currents of the wind? And you feel the wind on your skin. And you see the breeze and the leaves blowing in the breeze. Because of the clothes and because of the trees in the field and because of our skin... we know the wind is blowing. We cannot see the wind, but we can feel the wind. In the same way, we cannot see the Holy Spirit, but we can sense His presence with us. And we can see His effect on the world and on the people in our lives and in our own life. I feel that He is with me, but not all the time. I think if we felt Him with us all the time, we wouldn't really be living by faith. That's true, Mariam. We live by faith, not by our feelings. But we can choose to live in the power of the Holy Spirit... all of the time. Is that like harnessing the wind the way we catch it in the sail of a fishing boat? I guess it is. You... have to run the sail up the mast to catch the wind. And that's an act of faith. And when we ask God to fill us with the Holy Spirit, with the power that guides and directs our lives, that's a prayer of faith. And what about when we draw water from the well? Isn't that like being filled with the Holy Spirit? What do you mean Mariam? Drinking clean water, like from the town well, refreshes us and gives us life. Amira's well has bad water, kind of like me sometimes. I mean, sometimes I don't want to do what God wants me to do. Sometimes I want to be hateful or mean. Isn't that like dipping into a bad well? I suppose it is, Mariam. What about Amira's well? Mariam was just saying that Amira's dirty well is rather like our old sinful nature, the part of us that is inclined to be selfish, mean, or deceitful. And the clean water from the well here in town is like the Spirit of God. Think of it this way. When we accept Jesus' sacrifice for us and come into relationship with God, we receive the Holy Spirit into our hearts and lives. But God does not force us to obey Him. We can choose to live in our old fleshly nature that urges us to do what is wrong, or to live in the Holy Spirit, the power and presence of God that guides us to do what is right and pleasing to Him. But sometimes it is hard to choose to live in the Holy Spirit. Just as it was inconvenient for Amira's family to walk all the way into town to get their water from the clean well We are used to the "old well" of our old ways and habits. But whenever we choose the old way, or fall back into our bad habits, we can confess our sins to God. And tell Him that we are sorry. And then we can choose afresh to drink from the new well of life, the empowering of the Holy Spirit. And then everything is all right again. Well, dear, our relationship with the Lord is clear and close again, but there are consequences to our sin. And many times we have to live with those consequences. I think I drew some water from the old dirty well today. What do you mean? When I was angry about Mother going to Amira's, it felt good to let it out. I can't be mad at Mother because she is sick, so I took it out on you. That wasn't right. I felt... it wasn't pleasing to God, but I went ahead and yelled at you anyway. Will you forgive me, Mariam? Oh, Sara. The old well has had a few visits from me lately as well. The wind? The well? I'm not sure I understand. There is so much about who God is and what He is doing in the world that is beyond our understanding. What is important is for you to remember that the Holy Spirit is God with us every moment of every day. Jesus promised that He would be with us always. That He would never leave us or forsake us. And by His Holy Spirit He is true to His Word. We are never alone. We can always confess our sin to Him and make the choice to dip into the clean well of His enabling power. God is with me. That is good news. Yes. Yes it is! I should check on Mother. And I should be going home. All your talk about wells. I think... once Laila told me about Jesus giving someone "living water." Was He talking about the Holy Spirit? Yes, yes. Jesus met a woman drawing water from a well in Samaria. Mary Magdalene was there. Oh! Mary said the look on the woman's face was amazing. She had been utterly transformed by the words of Jesus. She had drunk of that "living water" Jesus told her about. I know something about that. I have felt so clean on the inside since I gave my life to Him. It is like drinking the cleanest, coolest water, and being washed through and through. Keep on drinking that water, Auntie. And if you ever feel yourself drifting away from Him, go right back and confess whatever separates you from Him and breathe in, drink in, that Holy Spirit. That experience doesn't happen only once; it can happen over and over again. All these years, and I never knew I could live this way. Maybe you appreciate this living water even more for having lived so long without it. Now, I must be going. I promised to call again on Amira. I think I'll see how Laila is. May I walk with you, Auntie? Certainly, dear. Auntie Rivka, do you ever draw water from the old well? Of course I do, Mariam. When? Well, I'm not happy about some of the things I've said to my husband. I'm not happy about the things I've said to Sara and Dawud. But honestly sometimes they provoke me so! They always treat me like I'm a little girl. Oh, people will provoke us. There's no question of that. But we always have a choice. Look at these two roads before us. We can choose which way we'll go. We can turn to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to work in us what we cannot do ourselves. To give us the ability to love people who are not lovable, or to have patience when we are provoked. Or we can ignore that quiet voice inside us that urges us toward God and choose instead to lash out at someone or to do something spiteful or mean. Does it get easier as you get older? Well, I do believe we build habits... for good or for evil. But the more we can live in an attitude of thanksgiving and submission to God, the easier it is for us to hear His voice, and respond to Him. But it's always tempting to choose our own path. I choose this way. Well, that way won't take me back to Amira's. I know. Thank you for walking with me. How is the Holy Spirit like the wind? What does the story of Amira and the wells illustrate about our new life with God? When were you last tempted to give in to your “old nature”? What was the result? How can we effectively change our bad habits? What did you learn about the Holy Spirit?