A Rope, A Well, and A Bucket

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ife on Rearden’s Farm was anything but boring.  Tom’s father had purchased the place during the Great Depression and although times were lean, the family always had food on the table and a warm place to stay.  Tom remembered those days as some of the best ones of his life.  The hours were long, working from sunup to sundown, but the lessons he learned and the experiences he gained working alongside his parents made it all worthwhile.

Now Tom was passing these lessons along to his son, Jack.  Every morning before school and every afternoon after classes, Jack had chores to do.  There were eggs to be gathered, cows to be milked, chickens to be fed, and water to be drawn from the well.  Honestly, it seemed to Jack as if the list of things to do would never grow shorter.  As soon as one task was finished, his dad always found other things for him to do.  But Jack never complained and he always enjoyed helping out around the farm.

Of all his chores, however, the one he liked the least was getting water from the well.  He had to let the bucket down—that was the easy part—and wait for it to fill with water.  Then he hauled the bucket, which weighed so much more than it did empty, back to the surface.  This was always a struggle but the family needed the water so Jack did his best to draw enough water to meet all the family’s needs.

There was one thing about their well, however, that puzzled Jack.  Lately, he had noticed that the water level in the well had dwindled.  The well was not going dry but it took longer for the bucket to reach the water which meant Jack had to attach a longer rope and work harder.  The funny thing was the water was colder and tasted better the deeper he went.  Although it required more work, the reward of fresh cold water, especially on a hot summer’s day, was worth all the effort it took to wrestle that bucket to the surface. 

Jack’s experiences could apply to any number of people and the various experiences they have had in life.  But would it surprise you to know this story can be found in the Old Testament in the book of Nehemiah?  Let’s look at a very small passage that contains a huge biblical truth for us today.

Nehemiah 1:4 simply states, “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.”  Nehemiah was a man in need as we all are!  When news reached Nehemiah that the walls of Jerusalem were torn down and the city’s gates were burned, he was heartbroken.  Earlier attempts almost 150 years before had been made to repair the walls but they were still in ruin.  Nehemiah knew this was the city where God promised to put His name but the walls were broken and needed repair.

Nehemiah could not go to Jerusalem straightway and repair the walls.  Israel had been carried into exile by the Babylonians and the Holy City lay in ruins.  So, Nehemiah did what he could do—he prayed!  Notice that he sat and wept and fasted before the God of heaven.  Nehemiah was letting his bucket down into the well of God’s grace and mercy.  He prayed to the depth of his need, confessing his people’s sins as well as his own.  For days, he neither ate nor drank and he remained in constant prayer until the bucket hit water!

God heard his prayer and answered Nehemiah!  He was allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls so the city could be restored.  Nehemiah let the bucket of his need down into the well of God’s grace knowing that the deeper the bucket went the sweeter would be his reward.  This is the lesson we must learn about prayer and about our relationship with God.  We must learn to pray to the depth of our need, letting that bucket down until it finds the pure spring of God’s grace.  There is enough water in the well to meet every need but we must lower that bucket and draw from God’s infinite resources.  God has the well; do you have a bucket and a rope today?