Day 10: 3 Artesian Wells of Extra Blessing

Beloved, do you long to walk in the blessing of the Lord like many Bible characters did? Do you want to see the Lord build your life, conquer your enemies, and set you up in victory over all your circumstances and problems, even if you have to walk through a battle first?

If so, tapping into three specific artesian wells of extra blessing will help you make great strides in that direction. And in this article, I want to inspire you to build the habit of walking in each of these three sub-rivers of blessing that are all within the primary river of the blessing of God.

Before we talk about extra artesian wells of blessing, let’s first discuss the primary river of blessing.

The Bible is clear that the blessing of the Lord falls on those who are obedient to Him. All the things we need in life come first and foremost as a result of:

• Making Jesus your Lord and Savior, so that you become a child of God;
• Then choosing to seek Him first every day; and
• In the seeking, as we learn what He desires from us, we must choose to obey Him and walk in His ways.

We learn these key principles from many, many Scriptures that all agree, but here are four examples of such Scriptures:

First, Psalm 1:1-6:

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish” (Psalm 1:1-6 NKJV).

And then Matthew 6:33:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33 NKJV).

And Deuteronomy 28:1-2:

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God …” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2 NKJV).

And Luke 12:32:

“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32 NKJV).

So, we see that blessing comes first and foremost from surrendering to, loving, serving, and obeying God.

However, there are three very specific sub-rivers of blessing–blessings that are like artesian wells, actually, springing up in power–that we can also receive within that framework.

These three artesian wells of blessing are as follows:

1. Extra diligence;
2. Careful stewardship; and
3. Showing thankfulness to God.

I want to share a little bit about each of these three artesian wells of blessing, both from the Scriptures and from my own experience.

First, let’s look at the artesian well of extra diligence.

Proverbs 13:4 says this:

“The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich” (Proverbs 13:4 NKJV).

And Proverbs 10:4 says:

“He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” (Proverbs 10:4 NKJV).

God’s Word tells us that diligence brings blessings on our heads. This is the blessing that comes with a habit, not just a heart posture. This blessing follows actual action.

So what does diligence look like on a daily basis?

How can we position ourselves to drink from this particular artesian well of blessing?

Here are a few examples:

• Diligence looks like paying a bill when you receive money, instead of blowing the money on something fun.
• Diligence looks like respecting other people’s time, and preserving your own reputation as an ambassador of the Kingdom, by arriving to places and appointments on time.
• Diligence looks like writing things down and keeping organized, so you don’t forget important things.

Diligence is a habit you have to cultivate, but it always carries rewards. Every time that I have made diligent decisions, built diligent habits, or seen others do the same, I have always also seen God rain down extra blessings on the heads of those making those diligent decisions (whether me or someone else).

Therefore, I challenge you today: How do you need to come up higher RIGHT NOW in the area of diligence?

No one can be diligent for you. But, if you are not diligent, you will not receive the blessings that accompany this artesian well from the Lord. If you do choose to be diligent, however, the blessings the Lord will shower on your head are mighty indeed.

And the second artesian well of blessings is that of careful stewardship.

When you take care of what God has given you, God will give you more of it.

If you want a bigger, different, or more beautiful house, you have to take care of the place where you live first. This is just how God works. He requires us to be faithful stewards of what He has given us.

Look at what the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 4:2:

“Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2 NKJV).

And one of my favorite verses that inspires me every time I read it:

“Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10 NKJV).

When we are careful stewards of what God has entrusted to us, He blesses us in every way.

For example, every time I put forth extra effort to clean, straighten, or declutter anything in my house–from everyday things like washing the dishes to more complex things like cleaning out a closet–I have noticed that God always blesses me in some extra way for doing it.

The blessing might show up in any kind of form, but I have noticed that it’s always a big, unexpected blessing. Why?

Because I purposely set out to honor the Lord with my possessions (which are His possessions, anyway, since He owns everything and we are only managers); and, when I do this, He causes blessing and increase and joy to come into my life in some way.

So what can you do today to honor the Lord with your possessions?

Whatever it is the Lord leads you to do, He will bless you BIG when you do it! Careful stewardship is an artesian spring in the middle of God’s great river of the blessing of the righteous.

The third artesian well of extra blessing is showing thankfulness to God.

As I have shared many times before, I am a feeler. I have All The Emotions, and I feel them deeply.

So, sometimes when things aren’t going my way, I tend to get discouraged or feel sorry for myself even when I know I shouldn’t–and I have to pull out all the stops to reverse course, because I know that my self-pity or doubting thoughts are sin.

Well, when that happens, one thing that works every time for me is THANKSGIVING.

Very often, if I’m sad and feeling down, I have said to the Lord something like this:

“Father God, I know You are good. And I know You are going to take care of this. And even if this thing never changed, You have been so good to me for so long that I ought to just thank You and praise You for all You have already done.

So today, Lord, I just want to ignore my problems and thank You all day long. Would You help me? Would You please give me a grateful and thankful heart, and help me to just thank You for all You have done, and for Who You are? Thank You, Abba Father. In Jesus’ name.”

And you know what? It has been the funniest thing, but I have noticed a very distinct pattern.

When I start thanking God and praising Him right in the midst of my struggles and sorrows–not necessarily because I feel thankful (I usually just feel sad in those situations) but because I know that giving thanks is the right thing to do–you know what God does?

I’m serious; this is a pattern. I have noticed that every time I start giving crazy thanks, just to discipline myself to do it, because God is worthy …

… very quickly, sometimes within moments, a great big blessing shows up unexpectedly.

This has happened to me over and over. And although the big blessing hasn’t always happened so fast that it’s within moments of beginning to give thanks, I have noticed it happening. It is as if God said:

“You’re going to thank Me? Okay then, I’ll give you something else to thank Me for.”

And this IS the fulfillment of His Word, for look at what He said in Matthew:

“For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him” (Matthew 13:12 NKJV).

And giving thanks is one of the biggest ways to place ourselves in the category of “whoever has,” so that we can also be part of the group of “to him more will be given, and he will have abundance.”

I know this sounds crazy, and maybe too easy; but I promise you that this is not just my imagination.

God’s Word is always true, and He is better than we have ever given Him credit for. He is so kind and good to us. And even when things don’t feel like they are going our way, God’s goodness and mercy are still chasing you down in the street if you are His child.

Sometimes, we just have to take our blinders of self-pity off and LOOK. We have to be willing to notice God’s goodness toward us in the land of the living, even before we see everything we want manifested to us.

Friend, blessing comes first and foremost into your life by making Jesus your Lord and Savior.

But, after that, there are many sub-rivers, or special artesian springs and artesian wells, of blessing that we can also walk in. These extra artesian wells of blessing bring us into new and extra dimensions of receiving blessing from the Lord.

Not everyone walks in these things, because not everyone cares enough about God to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, learning and deciding to obey Him in all things:

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13 NKJV).

However, if you will discipline yourself to be diligent, be a careful steward, and show your thankfulness unto God …

… these extra artesian wells of blessing can and will spring up in your life like rivers that cannot be stopped.

Do you need to work on tapping into these three wells of extra blessing in your life? If so, leave a comment below!