Think about someone in your life that is extremely important to you. Do you have them in your mind? Great, now I want you to think about how you met them. Did you run into them at a store, at a coffee shop, or at work? Was it out of the blue and you guys just hit it off? Was it intimidating? Awkward? Did they know anything about you?
I want to focus on a story in the Bible that talks about Jesus meeting someone. This someone was a woman. Not only did he meet her, but He changed her life. He met her where she was and called her out of the sin that she was in. She is not named in the Bible, but she is known as the Samaritan woman or even, the woman at the well.
John 4:3-4 says this, “So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He had to go through Samaria on the way.” I want us to focus on the word “had.” Going through Samaria was the shortest route back to Galilee, but most Jews would go the long way in order to avoid Samaria due to conflict with Samaritans. But here, John states in this verse that Jesus HAD to go through Samaria. And the reason? Although it is not plainly told to us, I believe it is because He knew that He would meet this woman at the well at that particular time. We can see the determination that Jesus had to go to this woman, so do you think he’d do the same for you? Of course! The Lord will go out of His way just to find you and bring you home to Him. Go read Luke 15:1-7. Jesus is sharing a parable about how a shepherd loses one sheep and he left all of his others to go find that one lost sheep. Jesus then goes on to say that there is more joy in Heaven when one lost sinner repents and returns to God than the ninety-nine who stayed with God.
This parable in Luke is so good and I believe that adding it to this story with the women at the well shows just how much the Lord cares for us. He goes out of His way in order to find us, talk to us, and brings us into communion with Him.
Getting back to John; it continues in verses 5-6 and says this, “Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.” I love that John gives us context to where they are. If we read in the Old Testament we can see many different things happen on the land where Jesus and the disciples are. And we see that that piece of land was still a meeting place for Jesus and the Samaritan woman.
Let’s look at the highlighted part. The first thing I want to mention is that it says that Jesus sat wearily beside the well. Jesus is the son of our Lord. He could be up in Heaven at this time with His Father, but instead He decided to come down to Earth and become human. Jesus walked through everything that we walked through so that He can understand how we feel. At this moment, Jesus was tired. He was worn out. I’m sure it was hot and that just adds to the weariness. He understands where you are because He has walked through it as well. He understands your feelings because He has felt them too.
John 4:7 says this, “Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”” When this Samaritan woman came to the well, it was just after noon. Most women would go to the well in the morning to draw water before it got too hot. Yet we see that she did not come with other women, she was alone. Why was she alone? It seems that this woman was possibly an outcast. The Bible doesn’t give specifics as to why she didn’t go to the well when all the other women did but people believe that it could be the sinful lifestyle she was living (we’ll dig into this part next week!)
Verses 9-12 continues on saying, “The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”” We see that Jesus asked her for a drink and her response was one that seemed surprised and confused. As we stated, she was probably an outcast. So she probably wasn’t used to people asking things of her. I like though that Jesus quickly flipped the script and said that if she knew the gift the Lord has, she’d be asking Him for it.
Pause right here. Think on this real quick: do you know the gift God has for you? Like, do you really know? Do you know that He has a better life for you? A life of freedom. A life of joy and peace. A life that is in HIS hands. He has made us promise after promise and if that doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what will. Jesus was telling the Samaritan woman that if she just knew who He was, if she would just believe, she would drop everything and ask Him for the living water.
It goes on in verses 13-15 and says this, “Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.””
At this time, the woman still does not know who she is talking to. She is still thinking that this living water was a spring somewhere; and she wanted that! But what Jesus is saying to her is that the water He gives quinches everything. It satisfies your life and makes you full. You can’t find this satisfaction anywhere else, only in Him. What you do in your life, the sins you do, the money you earn, the things you hear and say; they won’t satisfy you. It might seem like it at first, but you will always want more. My devotion this morning comes out of John 6:22-59. This is where Jesus says that “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” We need food and water to survive. Jesus refers to himself as bread and water; therefore, we need Him to survive. We need Him to live a life of abundance. We need Him to have the living water, the life of freedom, joy, peace, etc. We are nothing without Him.
One of the songs that I am listening to almost on repeat right now is What Can I Do by Tye Tribbett. This song has me reflecting that I am nothing without my Lord. My life is a hot mess when I am not depending on Jesus. My mind becomes a mess; my thoughts go wild. I become a bigger sinner; I don’t run from temptations. I have no joy. I am truly such a mess when I take a step away from the Lord.
There is a part in this song that says these words:
So here’s my heart, here’s my mind.
I give you my soul, Lord.
I need you to take control.
Cause I’ve tried it on, tried it on my own
But what I found is, I can’t make it on my own.
These words are words of surrender. These words are speaking to the Lord and simply telling Him that you need Him.
I am going to post part 2 of this blog next Tuesday, March 19th. But, right now what I want you to do is take a few minutes by yourself. The song is linked and I want you to reflect on your dependence on God. Are you needing the living water in your life? Are you missing that? Do you need more bread or more water? Are you trusting the Lord and relying on Him? The Lord is waiting for you to speak and ask! And then take some time to listen to Him speak to you.
Stay tuned next week for part 2!
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