Does God Ever Empty Our Well?

Photo Credit: Freedigitalphotos.net

I started out searching for a post idea for today looking through the romance pictures on a website and found this...a rose in the desert and I wondered...does God ever empty our well??

Or, I guess another way to ask the question would be: does He ever let us walk through the valley of the shadow?

Yes.

Does He make it happen? No, of course not. But He does use these seasons in our lives to bring about His glory and goodness.

Recently I blogged about "Accepting No". What we do when God shuts the door. Since that blog posting, no new doors have been opened in what I wanted to do. Emphasis on "I".

God emptied my well. Literally. I was dry. I didn't have anything left to give. I fell on my knees before my Creator and begged Him why this decision had to be made. Why did I have to live through this no when I so desperately wanted yes?

And I realized (as I always do in those situations) that God knew best. He always knows best. But in my fickle human pride, I wanted my best to be the best choice for me.

He walked me through a valley and slowly started dropping the water back into my well.

Of course, I'd like to still be doing what I wanted for myself just a few weeks ago, but looking at where I'm at now, I see the roses that have sprouted from the desert. Since that week of disappoint, I've taken on full time at my work. Why is this a blessing? Because in being full time, I was able to minister to someone who desperately needed to feel the hand of God.

 I wouldn't normally have been there. I wouldn't have forged that connection.

God's filling my well.

I have always wanted to minister. Minister as though it really mattered. Not that blogging here doesn't matter. Not that living my life for Christ doesn't matter, but being vocal about my faith, but always scared I wouldn't have the right words. God's got the right words. And He gave them to me at exactly the right time.

God's filling my well.

I've been blessed with enough income to attend a very special writer's retreat with my precious heart sisters next month.

God's filling my well.

I was able to hire an editor/therapist to work on parts of my novel, something I wanted to do for a long, long time. Proof that God is telling me I can still have my novel-writing dream along with normal life.

God's filling my well.

I've seen God's hand in my life, deepening and growing me. Showing me I am capable of doing so much more than I originally set out for myself.

God is overflowing my well.

Life can still feel as though days are spent in the desert and I'm pulling from my well with greater need. But even if my scoop scrapes bottom and I see my reflection waver away from me, I am reminded over and over again just by simply looking back on that second week of full time work and saying: God's got me here. For a reason. Am I going to trust that reason or just dump my well over of my own poor choices and reckless frustration? .

None of these things did I set out to dream for myself. None of these things would I have thought worth it to stick around in a place I didn't really want to see myself long term.

It makes my heart thud to think, I had to give up something I wanted...and sometimes the trade off doesn't seem fair, but God has already shown me where He knew/knows best. And when I think about the fact that He has shown me already the reasons why I'm still here, I get goosebumps.

He knows what I need. He knows I needed to know why I gave up this dream, and this time He gave me a slice of Heaven through His eyes.

God's filling my well.