February 2022 Come Follow Me Ministering – Jesus Christ is the well of living water
The February 2022 Come Follow Me Ministering Printable ties together Elder Clark G. Gilbert’s October 2021 General Conference talk “Becoming More in Christ: The Parable of the Slope” and this February’s Come, Follow Me lesson on Genesis 26:18–25, 32–33 and “Jesus Christ is the well of living water.”
Download February 2022 Come Follow Me Ministering Printable (4×6)
You can print these printables as 4×6 photo prints. My local drug store prints them for just pennies. They are also a higher resolution if you want to enlarge them.
February 2022 Come Follow Me Ministering Message
Genesis 26: Jesus Christ is the well of living water
In the scriptures, water is an important symbol of Jesus Christ and the gospel. Just like water is necessary for life, the Savior is necessary for eternal life. That is why the Savior is often called the “living water.”
During Biblical times, the metaphor would have been especially significant. Water wasn’t easy to come by. You had to know where to find it and you had to work hard to get it. Groups of people often fought over the wells. Water was survival.
That is why Christ’s promise to the woman at the well was so incredible. “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)
Wells As Reminders of the Covenant
In the Old Testament, wells are often used to remind and teach about the promises the Lord made to Abraham and his prosperity. For example, in Genesis 26 the digging of wells runs parallel to reminders of the Abrahamic covenant.
In this chapter, there is a famine in the land. To help Isaac’s family survive, the Lord leads them to Gerar. He also reminds Isaac of the great blessings He has promised his father Abraham. Even though there is a famine, in just one year Isaac receives a hundredfold of what he has sown. He starts to become very wealthy with many flocks and servants.
Unfortunately, the Philistines get jealous. Abimelech kicks Isaac out of Gerar, and Isaac settles in the valley of Gerar. Isaac needs water to survive, but the Philistines have filled up all the wells that were dug earlier by Abraham.
Searching For Water
Before trying to find water elsewhere, Isaac has his father’s wells re-dug. He even calls them by the same names his father used.
Then Isaac looks for more water. If his family is going to prosper in the valley, they need plenty of water. He has to fight with local herdsmen for the first two wells his servants dig. But they didn’t have to fight for the third well. Isaac sees it as a sign that the Lord has made room for him in the land and that he will be fruitful.
Isaac then goes up to Beer-sheba and the Lord appears to him. He tells Isaac not to be afraid and He reminds him again of the Abrahamic covenant. Afterward, Isaac builds an altar and finds another well in the same location. He names the well Shebah, which means “promise.”
Wells as Confirmations of Promises
As Isaac establishes more wells, he further cements his family’s ability to physically prosper in the land. The wells are also a confirmation of the promises the Lord has made with his family. It is a beautiful parallel for us. As we establish more wells (or sources for “living water”) in our own lives, we also receive more confirmations of the promises the Lord has made with us and our families.
How to Dig for Water
There are two very important things we can learn from Isaac’s well digging.
1) Dig where you know there is water
Like Isaac turned to the wells of his father for survival, we can also turn to the wells of our fathers. We can see where water has been found in the past and then turn to those same practices and beliefs.
In his recent General Conference address, Elder Clark G. Gilbert mentioned former BYU president Rex E. Lee quoting to his students, “We have all drunk from wells we did not dig, and warmed ourselves by fires we did not build.”
I loved the quote and looked around to see who may have said it first. The closest tie I could find was Deuteronomy 6:10-11 when Moses said, “…when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full.”
Moses not only refers to the Abrahamic Covenant, he also refers to blessings provided by those who have gone before. We see this same awareness when Christ speaks to the woman at the well. She refers to the well as one that was provided by Jacob (the son of Issac) for his posterity. These scriptures remind us of the blessings we receive because of the work done by those before us – whether they are direct family or not.
What if the wells of the past are buried up? We can return to the old wells and dig them back up again.
What if our fathers have left no wells for us? Then we can turn to our covenants. We are baptized into the family of Christ. Faithful saints who have come before us have left us wells to draw from. In many ways, you can still drink from the wells of Isaac.
2) Look for more water
It is not enough to rely on our fathers’ wells. We need to find our own wells. We will need it not only for our spiritual growth, but the growth of those who come after us. Notice that it wasn’t easy for Isaac at first. He had to fight for those first couple of wells, but he didn’t give up. And with time he saw a confirmation that he and his family would receive the blessings promised to him.
Like Isaac builds the altar at Beer-sheba and calls upon the name of the Lord, we can also turn to the temple and make promises with the Lord. Promises that not only bless us, but the generations after us.
Realizing Our Divine Potential
Some of us will drink from wells our fathers dug, some will have to dig up buried wells, some will find wells through the guidance of others, some will have to fight for the wells they have dug, and others will be the well diggers that bless coming generations.
But no matter our role in finding water, Elder Gilbert reminds us to involve the Lord in the process. “It is only through the Lord’s grace that we can realize our divine potential.” Key to our progress is remembering “the divine potential of all of God’s children and in our ability to become something more in Christ. In the Lord’s timing, it is not where we start but where we are headed that matters most.”
February 2022 Come Follow Me Ministering Handout
I decided to pair this month’s printable with a water bottle since it fit so well with the theme. And I am a sucker for a good water bottle!
Did you like this February 2022 Come Follow Me Ministering message? Find more Relief Society Ministering Printables for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
These ministering printables are a great way to help families incorporate the “Come, Follow Me” lessons into their own study. They are also perfect for Young Women’s, Relief Society, Sunday School, or Family Home Evening. I hope that these ministering printables will be a simple way to reach out to those we minister to.
