October 26, 2006

God's Will

The springs had stopped running, the wells were empty, the lake was mud, and the storage tank held only enough water to flush one toilet 50 times. Pine Springs Ranch was stone dry, and 200 children were to arrive for Summer Camp the next morning.

The staff was morose.

We prayed all week. "God, please send rain!" Instead, he sent scattered wispy clouds.

We tried to buy water and have it trucked in, but no one had any to spare.

We dug trenches, assuming God would send a deluge. The trenches were dry, testaments to our determination to "fix it" on our own.

We finally settled on "giving up," and were preparing to close the camp.

On Saturday night our team of counselors, cooks, wranglers, and leaders sat silent in the cafeteria, each consumed with thoughts of "Why us? Why now? Where's God!"

"I thought this was God's camp and that He wanted us to run it for the kids." There was a strong mix of bitterness in the counselor's discouraging words, emotions that matched how all of us felt.

Except for Cyndi, one of our volunteer horse wranglers. She stood and nailed us.

"If you believe this is God's camp and that He wants us to care for His kids, then you better quit whining and get some sleep so we'll be ready for a herd of 9-yr-olds in the morning! There's more than enough water in His well."

The door slammed hard as she left, like fireworks in a dark sky.

That's when our prayers changed from complaints and commands to acceptance and invitation. "God you must...!" became "Prepare me to do Your will."

Thirty minutes later one of the counselors discovered pure, clear water flowing from the top of our storage tank. All the pipes were still hot and dry, so no water had flowed into the tank. But the 30,000 gallon tank was overflowing with three months worth of water from God's Well.

There is always enough water in God's Well.

When the budget targets seem unrealistic and impossible, there are more than enough resources in God's Well.

When the stretch goals keep you awake at night, there is more than enough creativity and wisdom in God's Well.

When exhaustion replaces energy, there is more than enough strength in God's Well.

Whenever you feel emotionally dry, discouraged, or uncertain about what to do, there is more than enough of everything you need in God's Well.

Jesus once met a discouraged, empty, worn-out woman at a well near Samaria. Realizing her real need, he offered her a drink from the Water of Life. She didn't understand, and started to argue with him about water sources, delivery methods, and budgets. He stopped her, saying, "Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

His offer is timeless, fitting perfectly with each of our personal needs today. Drink deeply. "There is more than enough water in God's Well!"

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***One of my greatest pleasures at Florida Hospital has been to mail more than 400 FH Devotionals over the last 8 1/2 years, many of them with accompanying screen savers. Thank you for reading them, for sending me so many encouraging responses, for forwarding them to family and friends, and for sharing your own stories with me. These years at FH have been the best experience of my life...because YOU, our employees, have become my friends. Thanks for all you do to make the FH Mission LIVE!

Dick Duerksen
Storyteller
Florida Hospital