A View from the Pew
by Mike Burns

 I was reading a devotional this past week in preparation for our Wednesday morning men’s group. It was reminding us to “draw from the wells of salvation”. Every day, we draw from some kind of well. We reach for something to refresh us, steady us, entertain us, inform us, or tell us who we are. Often that “well” is close at hand: a phone screen, a news feed, a stream of opinions, a steady flow of updates, images, and comparisons. Social media and the wider noise of the world can promise connection, wisdom, and satisfaction. Yet if we are honest, we often come away more anxious, more distracted, more restless, and still thirsty. God described this problem long before phones were in our hands. Through the prophet Jeremiah, He said, “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13). The image is vivid: God offers a living fountain, fresh and flowing, but His people turn aside to cracked containers that cannot keep what they promise. That is still our temptation. The well of the world says, “Drink here and you will be enough. Drink here and you will know enough. Drink here and you will not miss out.” But the water is never quite enough. There is always another post, another headline, another argument, another image, another reason to compare ourselves with someone else. What begins as a quick glance can quietly become a daily habit of drawing our identity, peace, and direction from a source that cannot truly satisfy. Jesus offers a better well. Speaking to the Samaritan woman, He said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” (John 4:14). He was not speaking of a momentary escape or a passing inspiration. He was offering Himself: living water for weary souls, truth for confused minds, grace for guilty hearts, and eternal life for all who come to Him. To drink from the well of Scripture is to come daily to the voice of God before we give the world the first word and, all too often, the last word as well. It may mean beginning the morning with a psalm before opening a feed. It may mean pausing during the day to remember a promise of Christ instead of rehearsing the worries of the world. It may mean asking, “What is shaping my thoughts today—the truth of God’s Word or the noise around me?” This is not a call to fear every tool or avoid every conversation. It is a call to discernment. The world’s wells may inform us, but they cannot save us. They may distract us, but they cannot restore us. They may speak loudly, but they cannot speak life like the Word of God. Only the Lord is the fountain of living water. So let us notice where we are drinking. When our souls are dry, let us return to the well that does not run dry. Open the Scriptures. Sit with the Lord. Listen for His voice. In Christ, the thirsty are invited to come, drink, and live. And if you are a man and have some time of a Wednesday morning, stop in and see us at 7am at Starvin Arvins. It’s one way we like to “drink from the well of salvation” to start the day.

Blessings!