Meeting Jesus at the Well

Submitted by Lara Cook
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans). Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:7-10

This woman, the Samaritan woman at the well, had so many strikes against her.  Not only did her reputation precede her, but she was a Samaritan, a nationality that Jews traditionally despised and disrespected.  She had been rejected, shamed and shunned by the other women of the area because of her immoral lifestyle and choices.  She came to the well when the morning rush hour was over because she was embarrassed and ashamed.  She did not want to face the stares and hear the faint whispers.  So instead of coming in the cool of early morning, she comes in the heat of the day to avoid condemnation.  And who does she run into?  The King of Kings Himself. 

Jesus knew this woman.  He knew everything about her, all her sins and failures, how many times she had been married and that she was now living with a man she wasn’t married to.  Yet Jesus Himself, the only one who is even worthy of condemning her, did not offer condemnation.  He did not shame her or shun her.  He spoke to her, asked for a drink, and then offered her His living water.  From this story we can tell three things about this woman:

1. She was stuck – She was so deep in the miry clay of her sin that she probably felt like she would never be any different or ever have a better life.  She knew what she was and was resolved. Like so many times when we immerse ourselves in a life of sin it is hard to get away.  I can assure that Satan will not let go easily.   
2. She was embarrassed and ashamed – She was hiding from everyone else.  She knew her life was full of sin and wrong choices.  She didn’t try to pretend to be something she was not. She had been condemned by others.  Today she might be the one sitting on a pew or in a chair in worship all alone, in the shadows, up in the corner, as far away and hopefully unnoticed as possible.  
3. She wanted to be different – She wanted out.  She wanted the living water that Jesus offered.  She was thirsty for Christ and for the first time in her life she felt hope. She believed His words and knew that He could change her life. She left her water jug behind and ran back to town, bounding with joy to tell everyone about the man she met that could tell her everything she ever did.  

Jesus knew this woman, but I know her too. I have felt shame and condemnation.  I have been embarrassed and avoided people at all costs.  I have, at times, resolved that things are what they are and I have no control to change them.  Anyone who has ever sinned knows what she felt.  But the truth is Jesus and His living water is where hope springs forth.  We can’t change anything in our own power but with Jesus all things are possible.  Don’t believe the lies of Satan that you are worthless and unworthy and that you could never be any different. The living water is there for the taking, for the spiritually thirsty.  He does not discriminate or take into account your past sins.  God loves us in spite of all we have done.  He values us and pursues us.  All we have to do is recognize our need for Him, confess and repent, and accept His forgiveness and the salvation His living water brings.      

Scripture to Claim:
Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life’. John 4:13–14