John 4:4-26
Have you ever read this story about the Samaritan woman at the well? It’s worth another read.
It begins by stating that Jesus “needed” to travel via Samaria. There was a much faster route to reach his destination but he was setting himself up to meet the pressing need of this Samaritan woman. You may know that Samaritans were considered heinous outcasts. Not to mention being female too! On the face of it, this woman really didn’t have much going for her. And yet, it was with this apparent female “outcast” with which Jesus engaged in the longest ever recorded conversation in the Bible. If you’re someone who follows worldly views about the Bible being sexist, at this point you should realise that’s a lie.
Next, I’d like to focus on the considerate, gentle approach of Jesus. Note, he met her alone-scandalous at this time! But he was about to get to the root of her needs and he was not going to embarrass her. A conversation takes place about physical water and spiritual water. She doesn’t understand that the water that Jesus would give her was not physical. He was talking about the deep desire she had for love. Real love.
You see, this is an innate desire that our Lord has placed on the inside of each of us. This precious lady would go on to confess sins of a personal, sensitive nature which she could not possibly share with anyone else. In other words, she was about to place her fragile heart in the hands of someone she could trust. Her physical desires were laid out for Jesus to see - nothing hidden. Then, and only then, was Jesus able to replace her physical “water“ with his spiritual “water”. Symbolic of this, was that she left her water jar behind. Let’s look at that jar. Whatever its size, it had limited capacity to contain water. It would have been very heavy. And she would have to return every day, making this trek to refill. It was insufficient and could never meet her innermost desires. She had already been through five husbands, and Jesus knew this. Her deepest desires had not been met and she was searching in all of the wrong places.
But this day, her narrative was about to change. She was about to encounter “living waters“ and she would never “thirst“- seek fulfilment in multiple partners - again. She found Jesus - an unlimited, unburdensome supply of water.
This can be your story too. If you’re ashamed of what you’ve done, where you’ve been, or who you’ve been with, there’s one who is standing by waiting to listen without judgement. He wants your heart, because it is a safe place and only he can protect it. He will not add to your load, he will gently and lovingly take it. And when he does, your search will be over.
Will you trust Jesus with your heart today?
If you want help to receive Jesus, praise this prayer:
Jesus, I’ve been searching and never found fulfilment yet. Please come into my heart today.
I turn everything I’m ashamed of over to you and place my fragile heart in your hands. Thank you for loving me unconditionally.
Amen.
Please post a reply if you’ve prayed the above prayer and I will respond to you directly.
Alternatively, you can use: peacebrown38@hotmail.co.uk.
