"Spring Up Oh Well! Remember What the Lord Has Done"
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." John 7:38
Deep inside the heart of every Believer is a well of living water available to draw and drink from. However, tapping into that well, when critical circumstances are gripping our hearts with fear, can be very difficult. The Lord has given us a weapon to help us during those difficult times - that weapon is worship.
Worship has the power to change our atmosphere from hopeless to hopeful. Now I'm not talking about turning on some music. In fact, worship has nothing to do with music. By definition, worship means to bow down, to prostrate oneself before a superior in homage. What I am talking about is entering into a realm in the Spirit, even in the midst of trials and tribulations, pain and suffering, because we know the truth of God's nature and character.
I know it's hard when death and destruction are knocking at your door. Please understand; I am not trying to minimize the circumstance, but rather to maximize the potential of El Shaddai – God Almighty.
Remember What He Has Done
In Psalm 78:41b-42, David shares a powerful revelation to the listeners of his day and beyond. Speaking of the forefathers of our faith he says, "…and they limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power; the day when He redeemed them from the enemy." May he who has an ear, hear what the Spirit has to say today.
"The soul of the people became very discouraged on the way." Numbers 21:4b
Often our soul gets discouraged as the pressures of life attack us from every angle. We can get a type of spiritual amnesia and forget all the Lord has done for us along the way. This state of forgetfulness dulls our senses and causes us to question the very character of God. Does He hear me? Does He care about me? Does He remember me? Will He answer me?
Let me assure you, the answer is yes. Though we may not fully comprehend it this side of eternity, God loves us, He is faithful, and He does not forget. He remembers, but do we? One of the first things Israel was instructed to do was to, "Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten" (Exodus 13:3).
Beloved, it was unleavened bread that Jesus broke during His last supper when He declared, "This is My body broken for you – do this in remembrance of Me" (1 Corinthians 11:24b).
Remembering what He has done and why He did it will change the atmosphere around us. That is why the devil messes with our minds so much.
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
Consider Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. He was struggling emotionally with the very difficult situation that He was facing. The Bible tells us that His soul was exceedingly sorrowful, even to death (Matthew 26:38) and that He prayed three times (Matthew 26:44) asking for the cup to be removed from Him. Nevertheless He said, "Not My will but Thy will be done." Then, after this astounding utterance, an angel appeared from Heaven and strengthened Him! (Luke 22:43).
Beloved, these words were words of worship. Look at the result - the circumstance didn't change, but the atmosphere did and Jesus received what He needed in order to continue on. You can only worship what you trust. Jesus knew that God was able to remove the cup from Him, but He trusted the Father's plan, even in this.
The apostle Paul also prayed three times. He asked that a "thorn" be removed from him. God's answer was, "My grace is sufficient for you..." (2 Corinthians 12:9a). His grace is sufficient. "All sufficient" is what El Shaddai means! It means that Almighty God, the One who is eternally able to do anything, is also capable of being all that His people need whenever they need it.
That doesn't mean that we need to have a skip in our step and a smile on our face saying, "Praise the Lord, it's all good." But rather we are worshipping as we bow our knee to the One who is able, even as tears sting our eyes and declare, "He is all good." Though we don't understand His hand, we can always trust His heart. Selah.
"The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation." Exodus 15:2a
There's a pocket of power reserved in the song of praise. We thank the One who was for what He has done yesterday. We worship the One who is today - God Almighty, our sustainer in all things. We praise the One who is to come tomorrow for He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is God and He is good all the time!
When you hear rumors of war – worship; when you're in the hospital– worship; when you're at the gas tank – worship. Worship Him in the full sense of the word, willingly surrendering to the only One who is able to help us, God Almighty. Our help does not come from technology, it does not come from the doctors, and it does not come from the government. Our help comes from the Lord.
Spring Up, O Well!
I want to share with you the inspiration for this article and what I believe the Lord is encouraging us with today. In Numbers 21, Israel was nearing the end of their rope after forty years of wandering around in the wilderness. The Lord led them to a familiar place called "Beer" meaning well. This was the well where the Lord said to Moses, "Gather the people together and I will give them water" (Numbers 21:16b).
The Lord brought them to a place where they could look back and remember His miraculous provision of water when they thirsted in the desert. From this physical location and in their emotional condition, Israel sang this song, "Spring up, O well!" (Numbers 21:17a)
When they did that, something phenomenal occurred. It is easy to miss what happened if we are not familiar with Hebrew. However, as we dig a little deeper, we will see the progression that every Believer desires to move in. Verse 18 tells us that they traveled from the wilderness to Mattanah. Mattanah means Gift of Jehovah/Yehovah and it is probably to the southeast of the Dead Sea.
Verse 19 tells us from Mattanah they went to Nahaliel, which means torrents or streams of God. From Nahaliel they went to Bamoth, which means high places, or great high places. Verse 20 says they went from Bamoth, which just so happens to be in a valley located in the country of Moab, meaning of his father. From there they went higher up to the top of Pisgah, meaning cleft. From the top of the cleft, they looked down on the wasteland.
Reading this from a spiritual perspective, we can see that they moved from the wilderness to the "gift of God." Hallelujah! That would have been enough. But look, from there, they entered into a mighty rushing stream. This stream brought them to the high places. Throughout the Bible "high places" are places of worship. Their worship brought them higher. It brought them to the cleft of the Rock where they could see from a new perspective and now look down upon the wilderness and wasteland.
What an awesome progression, and it all started with remembering. Worship stems from a heart that remembers who God is and what He has done. In this atmosphere of worship, we find ourselves hidden in the cleft of the Rock (Jesus). Here our hope is renewed, our strength is restored, and our soul is refreshed.
I cannot close this article without first visiting the famous well where Jesus introduced the idea of worshipping in Spirit and in Truth as He spoke to a scorned Samaritan woman. Look what Jesus said to her in John 4, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water…whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
When deep inside your heart there is a song that sings, "Thy Grace is enough," a stirring of the waters begin. This stirring will bubble up and become a fountain of living water that will quench our dry and thirsty soul.
When you are at the end of your rope and there seems to be no hope, remember. The act of remembering will release worship into the atmosphere around you. The circumstances may not change but your perspective can. From this place you can find the strength to go on. Then there is no telling what the Lord can do, for with God all things are possible. Amen and amen.
Tiffany Ann Lewis
Dancing with the Flame of the Lord Ministries
Email: TiffanyAnn@tiffanyannlewis.com
Website: www.tiffanyannlewis.com
About Tiffany Ann Lewis: Tiffany Ann is a worship leader and speaker whose heart has been passionately awakened by a God who sees us in our shortcomings and loves us in spite of it all (Ezekiel 16). It is this message of Hope, God's burning love for humanity, that she desires to share through word or song wherever she goes. Tiffany Ann has been ministering for over 10 years in prophetic worship throughout the Body of Christ. She worships with her family at Northway Church in Malta, NY, where she serves on the worship team.
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