March 20, 2012

A Well of Gratitude

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I'm reading 1 Thessalonians during my morning devotions.  The books to the Thessalonians aren't ones I've spent a great deal of time in, but there is a lot of really good stuff in them.

One of my little "quirks" when I read the Bible is to read the same passage in more than one version.  Sometimes I really like the beautiful language of the King James Version.  The New International Version is probably the most common for study.  But for "getting the feel" of a passage, my favorite, bar-none, is The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.  Written in modern, conversational language it's more like reading a novel.  It isn't the best for studying scriptures, maybe, but it does give me a lot of moments where the fog lifts and I suddenly get it or see something new that I never got before.

This morning I was reading and underlining and highlighting and circling (yeah, my Bibles are a mess) and right there in the middle of 1 Thessalonians 2 I read one verse that spoke volumes, just volumes to my heart.  1 Thessalonians 2:13 in The Message says:

"And now we look back on all this and thank God, an artesian well of thanks!"

I looked up artesian well and it's defined as:  

a well sunk through impermeable strata receiving water from an area at a higher altitude than that of the well, so that there is sufficient pressure to force water to flow upwards.

Basically, water from a higher level flows into rock at a lower level.  As the rock strata fills it comes under pressure.  All that water has to go somewhere.  It seeks an outlet.  All it needs is a small fissure and whooosh! it rushes upward, bubbling freely and endlessly outward.

Do you see where I'm going with this?  God's blessings rain down from heaven and fill us.  As we soak up those blessings and deepen our relationship with God, we (should) become so filled with joy and gratitude that we can't contain it.  We have to let it out.  We have to give it back to God.  We have to share it with others.

My prayer today is that in our thanksgiving we would all bubble forth as freely and endlessly as an artesian well.

2 comments:

enthusiastically, dawn said...

Beautiful Stacy. I love The Message, too!

Craig said...

YES!!!! absolutely brimming with awesome! As I was going through my Lenten fast I realized how the fast emptied me – but emptying dis no good at all unless I thought of our Lord, meditated upon Him, talked to HIM, and so the fast emptied me – and HE filled me.

Everything good comes from above – from, as James put it, "the Father of lights" – and we can only love because God loves – we can only do good because God IS good – and if we really want to live the life – if I really want to live the life that is in line with why I was created, that speaks to my place in the universe – the whole BIG universe – I have to let God's blessings flow into me – and then HIS love flow out of me – just like you wrote – just like an artesian well – I think I knew that from somewhere in my past – you brought it to my brain again today – and THAT'S pure inspiration. Thank you Stacy. Well done! Well done. And may God bless and keep you and each and every one of yours.

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