“Drawing from the Well”

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all

comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in

any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Nobody likes to go through hard things, but you know what God gives us when He leads us

through difficult seasons? He provides us with experience and wisdom, compassion and a

newfound ability to relate to others in similar circumstances. You might say that God gives us a

gift when He walks us through the fires, because it’s from this stuff that we can then turn around

and be a blessing to others. Nobody wants it when it comes; some of our circumstances we go

through are so incredibly horrendous, but God does have a plan when He allows those things to

take place. I hope you’ll hear the words well in this poem I wrote; it’s so much the reason for all

the writing you may have already read (devo’s often are inspired by my experiences) and also a

place of hope for appropriating all the gut-wrenching moments. You probably have your own

inkwell. Regardless of writing, we all have wells from which we may draw and benefit others. I

encourage you to use yours well (oh, the play on words). God loves you.

"The Inkwell of Strife"

He who would write well

Must endure his own hell

Must through the valley

Pass through the shadows

Must in the darkness

Pray for what follows

Must face despair

Must endure scorn

Must look the fool

Must heart feel torn

Must be broken

Into many small pieces

Must about life

Throw out many theses

Must through the bad

Grasp what is good

Must trust that God

Does as He should

Must from the ground

Humbly rise

Must come to peace

To brighten his skies

Must see the point

That God writes the story

Despite all confusion

Arrive at God's glory

Then in this growth

Gone through this test

Passes it on

For others to bless

For they soon shall know

What yet not they see

Their day will come

To God will they plea

Then might He guide them

To people like yourself

Who fought through your darkness

To deeper spiritual health

It’s not what we reckoned

Would be what it’s like

For a Christian made holy

Was crafted in strife

We wanted a pen

To jot down a quip

But God gave us stories

From such inkwells to dip

Sam Stringer

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used

by permission. All rights reserved.