Well-Watered Women

December 31, 2014  - By Gretchen Saffles

(Above photo by Nicole from Bloom the Blog)

A Call to Love God’s Word More Than The World

A few months ago I was reading in Isaiah 58 and these words that God spoke to the Israelites sunk deep into my heart:

“And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.” (Isaiah 58:11)

These promises, beautiful and powerful as they are, come with conditions. In the verses before God lays out for the Israelites a way of life that is selfless and centered on giving themselves away for His glory. (Take time to read this whole chapter today and let it take root in your heart.) It is a life of service, sacrifice, and satisfaction in all that God is. As I read the commands that lead to the promise, my heart cried out – I want to be a well-watered woman!

Looking back on my life, I can see a consistent pattern of hunger and thirst in my heart. However, I don’t always run to the right sources to satisfy my desires. There have been times I’ve ran to others to give me affirmation and purpose. This only leads to a severe disappointment and lack of confidence in my life and my calling. There have been other times I’ve ran to what I do and all the things that are on my list to satisfy my thirst for life This only leads to running in endless circles and ending in a tired mess of heavy breathing and getting nowhere. There have been other times I’ve run to social media to find that fix for my hunger and thirst and only feel even more dried up after spending my time reading words other than the Words of Life found in the Word. My guess is, you have been here too. You’ve searched in all the wrong places to find satisfaction for your hungry and thirsty soul and you might be a dried of well at this point.

The beauty of the gospel is, there’s hope for your dried up heart today. There’s water to be drunk from the Word, food to be eaten from the Bible, and hope to be grasped to water your heart. We have a choice whether not we will eat, drink and be satisfied from the Lord, or eat, drink and be left empty and dry from the world. I am choosing the Lord, those only One who satisfies and waters our dried up hearts! Will you join me? Will you choose to live as a well-watered woman this year?

Seek and Find Satisfaction

In Psalm 63, David cries these words out of a desperate heart:

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

David had been searching for water to quench his thirsty soul and come up with nothing when he searched in the world. He learned firsthand, as many of us have learned and are learning, that no thing in this world can satisfy our thirsty hearts. He proceeds to tell us the answer to his search in verses 2-5:

“So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and your glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My should will be satisfied as with fat and rich food and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.”

Did you read that? He said that the very love of God that never fails is…what? Better than life itself. He didn’t say how many followers he had on social media, or what others thought of him, or how many things he could accomplish (remember, David had defeated the giant Goliath and was eventually crowned king), or the best clothes and foods and houses and vacations. He said God’s love was the ONLY thing that would satisfy his search for satisfaction. It was better than anything in this life. I want this to my life’s cry and manifesto. I am tired of wasting precious time searching for satisfaction in all the wrong things and living out of the droplets of Jesus in my heart and letting the things of this world dry up my joy. Are you? We were meant for more than the dried up, keep trying, never getting there kind of life. We were created to be well-watered woman who find all our satisfaction and joy in Christ alone. It’s time we stopped allowing Satan to distract us from the mission and the things that will give our life purpose and affect our eternity. All the promises of God’s Word are ours today if we would just read them, cherish them, and live them.

If you are with me, and if reading this makes your heart beat fast, prayerfully consider joining me in the call to be a well-watered woman this year. Below, I have taken time these past few months to pray through what this could look like over 2015 and how it could impact our life for eternity. As your read, pray, and seek the face of God, I pray that this year would be one you would choose to live for eternity and not the here and now. This life is so brief, but what is coming quickly is forever, it’s time we had vision for what is to come.

Well-Watered Women

  • Well-watered women seek to be fed and watered by what lasts forever – the Word of God. This woman does not find her satisfaction or identity in the temporary treasures of this world, in her number of followers, her successes on her resume, or her busy schedule. She finds her satisfaction and identity as a daughter of God and a disciple of Jesus. (Psalm 46:4-5, 1 Peter 3:3-4, Jeremiah 15:16)
  • Well-watered women overflow life and truth onto others in need of a drink. There is a thirsty world around us seeking for the satisfaction we have found in Christ. Our love for Jesus should overflow in every outlet – our home, our work, our errands, our social media platforms, and our to-do lists. All should be centered around making much of Jesus. (John 8:38, Matthew 25:35-40)
  • Well-watered women come to the well to meet Jesus each day and drink deeply of His truth. This woman choosing her Savior before anything in this world. She chooses to meet with Him before the day gets going and the lists get long. She knows that this is the source of her life and won’t miss this appointment for anything. (John 4, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Jeremiah 17:7-9)
  • A well-watered woman knows who she is, why she is here, and what she’s is called to do. She has a mission and won’t be distracted from her calling in Scripture. (Philippians 3:12-20, 1 Peter 2:10, 2 Peter 1:3-8)
  • Well-watered women live fruitful days that produce ripple effects that reach eternity. She doesn’t merely focus on the here and now, she makes her decisions on what will effect her eternity and others eternity. She shares the gospel without fear, she gives without worrying, she loves without conditions, and lives without limits because she knows her God can do all things. (Proverbs 31)
  • Well-watered women cherish moments as gifts from the Lord and doesn’t wish them away. This woman takes every moment, whether filled with suffering and hardship, or joy and abundance, and thanks the Lord for it. She doesn’t wish away precious time for what is coming but sees the present as a step to the future. (Matthew 6:33-34, James 4:13-14)

The Dried-Up Woman

  • The dried-up woman has mistaken her identity for her accomplishments, her followers, her looks, and her bank account. She strives to be like others instead of embracing who God made her to be.
  • The dried-up woman always wants and is never satisfied.
  • The dried-up woman spends her time doing things that drain her of life and joy. She is afraid to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth and chooses comfort over obedience.
  • The dried-up woman fills up on coffee but never drinks from water that satisfies. She ignores her need for rest and time alone with the Lord and choose to push through and move forward using her own strength that is not enough.
  • The dried-up woman majors in time wasting and has no direction in her life. 

Looking at those two lists above, I can honestly say I find myself in the dried-up woman category many days. I am praising God for His grace and His abundance of new beginnings today and choosing to be a well-watered woman this year. If you are willing to be a well-watered woman and join me in living with eternity in our vision, know first that there is grace when you fail. Because you will. We all will. But a well-watered woman looks to her Savior and gets back up off the floor and keeps walking. Choose this day to serve Jesus and not yourself or this world, including your pride. 

Starting tomorrow, let’s begin our year in the Word of God. Let’s start is right by spending time in prayer – alone with our Savior. This daily routine will be the bread and water of your thirsty days. Here are a few ways you can get into God’s Word this year –

  1. Read through the Bible chronologically – I am going to start this plan but go through it slowly. I have a tendency (as many women do), to start a task like this and quit once I get behind. This year I give birth to our firstborn son in May and know that there may be a few weeks where I can’t fully read all I need to stay up to date in this plan. I am starting knowing I probably won’t get to Revelation by December. But I did this plan a few years ago and it changed my perspective on Scripture! I used this Bible to follow and also used Iva May’s posts on the reading for in-depth study.
  2. Choose a book of the Bible to slowly read through and study – My friend Nicole from Bloom the Blog made a Romans study guide to go through this book in 90-days. I would highly suggest following her and going through this study if you like the study approach!
  3. Choose a topic from Scripture to study entirely – You can also choose a topic to dive deep into. My suggestion here would be to study it from every angle. Don’t just pick and choose verses you like. Study the background, the history, and the context to understand the full meaning of the word.

If you are willing to dive deep into God’s Word, share with me below in the comments! Let us know what study you are choosing and any other things the Lord has brought to mind that a well-watered woman looks like! You can also share your studies and encouragement this year using the hashtag #wellwateredwomen on social media so we can find each other and encourage one another.

I am excited and ready to go on this journey with you!

choosing to be a well-watered women with you,

Gretchen

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  1. jessicahughes7514@gmail.com says:

    I SO needed this today! Thanks for spending the time to write out bullet points in depth. It’s so helpful to see exactly where in my life I need to become a well-watered woman and how to get there!

  2. Jess says:

    I SO needed this today! Thanks for spending the time to write out bullet points in depth. It’s so helpful to see exactly where in my life I need to become a well-watered woman and how to get there!

  3. Anonymous says:

    […] (Above photo by Nicole from Bloom the Blog) A Call to …read more       […]

  4. […] (Above photo by Nicole from Bloom the Blog) A Call to …read more       […]

  5. I absolutely love this Gretchen! Feel very much of the same on my heart! I’m with ya!

  6. I absolutely love this Gretchen! Feel very much of the same on my heart! I’m with ya!

  7. This is exactly where I am this year! Spent too much time this year working on the to-do list and always frustrated because it’s actually a list that will never be done. I’m going to prioritize reading scripture again this year through the whole bible. I completed the bible in 90 days challenge a couple of years ago and it was life changing! Seeing scripture come alive. Seeing how Christ is woven into the whole bible. From the first words in Genesis. Your post has encouraged me to do it again. I am going to follow a year plan this year tho! Can’t wait to fill up my journal with God’s word.

  8. Megan says:

    This is exactly where I am this year! Spent too much time this year working on the to-do list and always frustrated because it’s actually a list that will never be done. I’m going to prioritize reading scripture again this year through the whole bible. I completed the bible in 90 days challenge a couple of years ago and it was life changing! Seeing scripture come alive. Seeing how Christ is woven into the whole bible. From the first words in Genesis. Your post has encouraged me to do it again. I am going to follow a year plan this year tho! Can’t wait to fill up my journal with God’s word.

  9. rpruhs@embarqmail.com says:

    Well said Gretchen and you covered everything I believe most women feel! Nothing this world has to offer is better than JESUS! Another way to stay well watered in God’s word is through Bible Study Fellowship! An intense bible study taking one book a year. Check it out on http://www.bsfinternational.org
    Love you Gretchen and keep on keeping on!

  10. Lu Ann Pruhs says:

    Well said Gretchen and you covered everything I believe most women feel! Nothing this world has to offer is better than JESUS! Another way to stay well watered in God’s word is through Bible Study Fellowship! An intense bible study taking one book a year. Check it out on http://www.bsfinternational.org
    Love you Gretchen and keep on keeping on!

  11. mjoy80@gmail.com says:

    I have set a reminder on my phone to monthly read Proverbs 31 and adapted this section of the well watered woman segment into my monthly reading as well. I loved this and it fit into my focus and what I hope for this new year. Thank you Gretchen for these words which I made personal to myself……
    “I will be a Well-watered woman. I will live fruitful days that produce ripple effects that reach eternity. I won’t merely focus on the here and now, I will make my decisions based on what will effect my eternity and other’s eternity. I will share the Gospel without fear, give without worrying, love without conditions, and live without limits because I know my God can do all things.”

    I am excited to live this out in the new year!

  12. Marta Joy says:

    I have set a reminder on my phone to monthly read Proverbs 31 and adapted this section of the well watered woman segment into my monthly reading as well. I loved this and it fit into my focus and what I hope for this new year. Thank you Gretchen for these words which I made personal to myself……
    “I will be a Well-watered woman. I will live fruitful days that produce ripple effects that reach eternity. I won’t merely focus on the here and now, I will make my decisions based on what will effect my eternity and other’s eternity. I will share the Gospel without fear, give without worrying, love without conditions, and live without limits because I know my God can do all things.”

    I am excited to live this out in the new year!

  13. ahumphrey0421@gmail.com says:

    Gretchen
    Thank you so much for sharing this! I want to strive to be a well-watered woman also! I have decided that I am going to start the year by going through Ruth using your Gospel of Grace study! I have wanted to dive into this book of the Bible since I read A God-sized Love Story but I have been procrastinating in going through it! I now have the push I needed, thank you! I want to use this year to go through books of the Bible more slowly and work on my intentionality and heart in reading them!

    Hope you have a great New Year!
    Anna

  14. Anna Humphrey says:

    Gretchen
    Thank you so much for sharing this! I want to strive to be a well-watered woman also! I have decided that I am going to start the year by going through Ruth using your Gospel of Grace study! I have wanted to dive into this book of the Bible since I read A God-sized Love Story but I have been procrastinating in going through it! I now have the push I needed, thank you! I want to use this year to go through books of the Bible more slowly and work on my intentionality and heart in reading them!

    Hope you have a great New Year!
    Anna

  15. Gosh I love your heart so much, you give me so much encouragement. Praying for you while you are in Nicaragua

  16. Gosh I love your heart so much, you give me so much encouragement. Praying for you while you are in Nicaragua

  17. Teresaburns5519@gmail.com says:

    It helps to know we are not alone in this , love the info you shared.Thanks for the encouragement.

  18. Teresa says:

    It helps to know we are not alone in this , love the info you shared.Thanks for the encouragement.

  19. Gretchen, I am doing the She Reads Truth study John to kick off the New Year! Absolutely love this!

  20. Shakira says:

    Gretchen, I am doing the She Reads Truth study John to kick off the New Year! Absolutely love this!

  21. So excited about this Gretchen! I love studying one book of the Bible for a LONG time and still making my way through John. Can’t wait to follow along with #wellwateredwomen!

  22. Sarah says:

    So excited about this Gretchen! I love studying one book of the Bible for a LONG time and still making my way through John. Can’t wait to follow along with #wellwateredwomen!

  23. sarahm.mccollum@gmail.com says:

    I love this. I have been striving in my own flesh for too long! Time to become a well-watered woman. I have been doing a combination of both chronological and long book study since last January (lol)! It was the first time I decided to read the Bible through chronologically, so I am taking time on each book for comprehension and absorption.

  24. Sarah McCollum says:

    I love this. I have been striving in my own flesh for too long! Time to become a well-watered woman. I have been doing a combination of both chronological and long book study since last January (lol)! It was the first time I decided to read the Bible through chronologically, so I am taking time on each book for comprehension and absorption.

  25. Just downloaded the 90 Romans study to start off my 90 day give me jesus journal! So excited to really dig into my favorite book of the Bible! So thankful for your transparency, hunger to make much of Him, and encouragement to so many women. You make social media a better place!

  26. Just downloaded the 90 Romans study to start off my 90 day give me jesus journal! So excited to really dig into my favorite book of the Bible! So thankful for your transparency, hunger to make much of Him, and encouragement to so many women. You make social media a better place!

  27. […] 5. Be a Well-Watered Woman // You can find the the reference here. […]

  28. […] coming months. Gretchen announced a hashtag that will chronicle a life-long pursuit of becoming Well-Watered Women (#wellwateredwomen). She says we can expect more from this movement in 2015. She also says that […]

  29. Sofia says:

    So inspiring to read your blog, I know I’m late but Thank you for these beautiful words. So helpful, feeling God working in me.

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