Sincerely, The Woman at the Well

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to give the message for my church’s youth group. With a missions trip coming up, our theme was “ordinary” people in the bible that were used in big ways. Being the only female leader, I wanted to make my message about a female in the bible that was used for furthering God’s kingdom. But, I didn’t want to speak about a woman that was automatically obedient; I wanted a woman with a back story. I chose the woman at the well, a woman that I relate to the most. It is probably one of my favorite chapters in the bible because it teaches you SO much. I wanted to share all of the lessons that we could take out of John 4 in this journal entry.

REST

“Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.”

Jesus didn’t have to go this way, but He goes anyway and He RESTS. It is proof to us that beautiful things come out of our rest. Jesus’ moment of rest changes the course of this woman’s whole life, and it wouldn’t have happened if He had not changed His course. It relates to the message that another leader shared the week before, the story of Philip. Had Philip not gone to the desert as God had told him too, he would not have had the same opportunity to share the gospel.

It’s also a beautiful example of His power. Through the Father, anything is possible. Nothing is too big for His plan.

BE FILLED

“7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

9 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.[a])

10 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.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” “

Notice something very important in verse 8: Jesus pursues a conversation without a huge crowd, his disciples have gone. It is not that He’s ashamed of her, but that He does not want her to feel shamed.

I think this section of John 4 does a great job of showing that you experience the grace and mercy of God THROUGH hurt. No one else is at the well at this time, that’s her plan! She’s hiding, so she goes at noon to avoid others. You can see that as she tries to dodge Jesus every time He tells/asks her something, she feels incapable. But Jesus doesn’t care. Jesus doesn’t care that He ‘shouldn’t talk to her’, because Jesus doesn’t see her as the world had marked her. Jesus sees her as His Father first spoke of her. Jesus can see that she’s thirsty, that she wants to be filled but she’s choosing the wrong things to fill her.

How often do we do that? Instead of running to the one who can truly satisfy, we spend our time trying to be filled with things that offer only temporary happiness, not eternal joy.

WORSHIP

"16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband.18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

See how Jesus responds to the Samaritan woman. He doesn’t tell her to go and come back when she’s a better person. What does He do instead? He tells her to BRING her brokenness! He already knows everything! There is no point in trying to hide anything from Him. He doesn’t want to shame us, and we can see that in verse 26. Why verse 26, you ask? Because He gives His first “I am” to a *and read every word I write* Samaritan woman with a sexual sin issue. That is a BIG deal!

I want to draw attention to verse 23. The Father is seeking TRUE worshipers to worship Him in spirit and truth. It doesn't say perfect worshipers, it says TRUE. He wants us to bring our brokenness and worship Him honestly!

TRANSFORMATION

"27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him."

Jesus removes her shame and INSTANTLY her life is transformed! Look at verse 28! Do you remember what I said about her going to the well at noon? To avoid people? In verse 23 she's going back into town to speak to people!! That's how Jesus works, y'all! Allowing Him in leads to transformation! He can't enter our lives for us to stay the same! To invite Jesus into your life means that you are going to grow into a better version of yourself!

BE FED

"31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

When we get hungry we feed our bodies, so why starve our souls? "You are what you eat." Similar to verses 7-15, we need to be spiritual fed and spiritually filled. If we are only taking in negativity, then we are going to be negative. If we are taking in scripture and truth, then we are going to live out scripture and speak truth. What you let enter your mind and soul will determine how you act.

But you also need to be filled in order to give to others. I was thinking about a little fountain that my family used to have back by our pool. It had different levels, with a pipe running through, and as long as there was water in it then it would flow down through the other levels. We need to make sure that we are filled first, and then it will overflow into other people and other areas of our lives!

LIVE IT OUT

"39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.

42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

It gets to a point where it's not just about what we say, but what THEY SEE. How often do we hear that?

I don't know that somebody is a good singer if I only ever hear people say that they're good. I need to actually see it in action to KNOW that they're a good singer.

The Samaritan woman being used leads to people searching for Jesus and finding Him themselves! The enemy tried to tell her that she couldn't be used, but JESUS said "I'm not finished with you yet."

Use YOUR testimony and YOUR life/past to help transform the lives of others. I always say that somebody needed you to go through and get through what you have been through. And if things don't go according to the course that you have planned for your life, it's probably because Jesus has a different and better plan.

So what are the husbands in your life? What is causing you shame? What is holding you back and distracting you? I encourage you to identify your current husband and some of the past husbands that maybe chipped away at you. And when you identify them, I encourage you to take them to Jesus. He loves you, even in your brokenness.