Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.  The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”

“Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.                                                                                                         Genesis 24:15-18

Rebekah had a job to do. Genesis 24:11 says, “it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.” I am assuming that going to draw water from the well was a task she did often, probably daily.

But this time would be different.

A mundane every day task would turn into a God-ordained encounter that would not only change Rebecca’s life forever, but also the course of history. That “well” experience would put her right smack dab in the very lineage of Jesus Christ!

Rebecca was faithful in the small things. She was obedient to do the task she had been given. To me, her job did not seem exciting. Honestly, it seemed pretty dull and boring. I think I would get tired of going to draw water from a well day after day. I’d probably be bribing my sister to take my “well” shift.

But I am reminded through this story how important it is to be faithful over what we have been given. That the small things count. That there can be purpose in the repetitive routine tasks. That there’s something to be said for those who are willing to keep showing up and doing the same things again and again.

To keep going back to the well.

I think of my parents. There’s a lot of things parents do that’s anything but glorious. Laundry never ceases. Dishes are always dirty. Dust abounds. Bathrooms need cleaning. Floors need mopping. Hungry bellies need food. Homework. Diaper duty. Bedtime stories. The cycle is endless. I’m so thankful that my parents hung in there with us for the long haul. Now they help me tremendously with my own kiddo.

I think of my husband Skip who keeps going back to his job day after day to provide for our family because of his love for us.

I think of my friend Marti. For the 12 years I’ve known her, she’s taught the 2-year-old class at church. Now, if you have ever been around a bunch of toddlers in a small room altogether, you know THAT is amazing! Sunday after Sunday, week after week, year after year, she keeps pouring Christ into those children.

They keep going back to the well.

We just never know the impact our lives are having each day. We can turn our ordinary wells into altars of worship  We can do those monotonous tasks for the glory of God.

See, what we need to realize is—the Lord sees. He’s watching us. He sees us when no one else does. He sees our faithfulness to do the same tasks over and over again. He sees our hearts.

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering” Romans 12:1 (MSG).

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” Colossians 3:23

Often we are looking for the “better” wells. We want that promotion. That position. That raise. We want that thing–over there. The problem is, if we are not faithful with what we already have, then we won’t be faithful with what we think we want.

We all want to do big things for God. But what we don’t realize is that God can do big things through the little things we do–if we do them for His glory.

A while back I was praying about a new relationship in my life. I was concerned about how to handle this friendship and so I telling the Lord about it and asked Him what I should do. The thought that came to my mind was to make that relationship about Him. Make Him the focus. Make Him the center.

We can make Him the center of everything we do–even ordinary trips to the well.

But in order to accomplish this, it is essential that we keep going back to the Living Well–Jesus Christ. How important it is that we discipline ourselves to daily read God’s Word. To consistently spend time with Him alone in prayer. Keep going back to Him.  On the good days. On the bad days. On the mundane days. When we don’t feel like it. In all seasons of life.

God has you right where you are for a reason. Be faithful. He has strategically placed certain people in your life for a specific purpose. Make those relationships about Him. We all have “wells” that we go to on a regular basis. Keep going!

You just never know what extraordinary things God can do from an ordinary encounter at a well.

 

I am attaching a great sermon about this passage that I listened to this past week by Carter Conlon, pastor of Times Square Church, called “‘Yes Lord’ Is A Prayer.” If the link isn’t below in the email, just click on the title above, then scroll to the bottom of the blog. The link should be visible for you to access the sermon.  It is powerful! Enjoy!

http://www.tscnyc.org/media_center.php?pg=sermons&spg=carterconlon&mi=47843

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