Do you ever feel weary, empty, or lost?
In John Four, a story is told about an encounter between Jesus and a woman from Samaria. Jesus is on his way to Galilee from Jerusalem, and in passing through the town, he stops beside a well and meets this local woman. He asks her for a drink of water, and the woman is curious because Jewish men did not associate with Samaritan women. But Jesus does, and He tells her something. We’ll pick up the story there, and you can read what happened.
“If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you living water,” Jesus says. “Whoever drinks this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst. It will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
“Please sir,” the woman said, “give me some of that water so I will never thirst again and I won’t have to come here to draw water.”
“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
“I have no husband,” she said.
“You’re right. You don’t have a husband--for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t married to the man you are living with now.” John 4:10, 13-18
Pretty bold of Jesus to speak that way to her, don’t you think? Jesus’ ability to direct the conversation the way He wants is amazing, and it’s even more amazing how the woman responds. First they have a discussion about what true worship is, and then Jesus reveals He is the Messiah. This news excites her, and she runs off to tell everyone.
If a man on the street approached such a woman today and spoke the words Jesus does, he would probably get slapped for it! People get uncomfortable when we go below the surface, especially with matters of morality or pride, and yet Jesus does it with such ease. He wins her over! How does He do that?
I think the key lies in the way He speaks. On the printed page of our Bible we can’t hear how He says these words to her or see the look in His eyes. But based on what we know of Jesus’ compassion and deep love for people, and by the way the woman responds to Him, I think it’s safe to assume Jesus wasn’t speaking in a judgmental way. He was concerned for her, and He wanted to offer something that would take away her pain.
When she asks Jesus for the Living Water, why does He ask her to go and get her husband? He knew she didn’t have one, and His words seem out of place. A more appropriate response may have been, ‘Have you been baptized? Would you like to be?’ Or He could have said, ‘Follow Me. Come and be My disciple.’
But He didn’t do either, and this is why: He wanted her to be honest about her emptiness. That was the key to receiving the Living Water because its purpose was to fill up those empty places in her heart. The loneliness. The shame of her reputation. The hopelessness of her situation. The holes left by those who had abandoned her and didn't love her fully. And it’s the same for us today. Before we drink the Living Water, we must first realize how thirsty we are.
Imagine yourself meeting Jesus beside this well. You’re coming to get some ordinary water, but instead Jesus offers you Living Water--something that will satisfy your heart and soul. You say, ‘Yes, please. I need that.’ Then He says, ‘Go and get your_________.’ You fill in the blank. What would Jesus want to bring to the surface? What would He ask you to go and get where your only response would be, ‘I have no__________.’
You may think in terms of people, circumstances, or personal character: I have no friends, no boyfriend, no beauty, no talent, no joy...’ You can fill in the blank with more than one thing. The list of our emptiness can go on and on. Receiving what you truly need from God requires your honesty about your feelings about yourself, your losses, your weaknesses, your disappointments, and your mistakes.
Take some time to think about them and share your heart with Jesus. In exchange for your honesty, you will receive the love, the peace, and the blessings He has waiting for you. You are safe with Him, and He won’t send you away empty-handed. He will fill you to overflowing.
Why? Because you are loved. You are His. And He is good.
