The Woman at the Well

     I've been so inspired by the Word lately that I wanted make a feeble attempt at blogging. I feel prompted to share a little bit about this chapter in the Bible and how it has affected my life. God's spoken so softly over me with this chapter time and time again as it so closely parallels my coming to faith.

John 4 

     This story talks about a woman who unsuspectedly comes face to face with her Savior; where He floods her with compassion and mercy.

     First off, it is incredible enough for Jesus (a Jew) to speak to a Samaritan at all, let alone a Samaritan woman. This particular woman was full of shame and sin; she was a promiscuous woman and an object of ridicule in her village. She went to the well to get water at the hottest part of the day (noontime; verse 4:6) to avoid crowds of mockery and humiliation. Jesus left His disciples early and went out of His way to meet with this woman. 

     In verse 16, Jesus begins to reveal that He intimately knows every detail of this woman's life. She feels no shame in His presence and is so eager to know more about who He is. He shows her kindness and love, in a way she has never experienced before. It's when she acknowledges Him as Lord that comes my favorite, seemingly pointless verse...

"The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone"...

John 4:28

     I can't help but overflow with admiration when I read this verse. It is so profound. 

     

I shared this verse as a part of my testimony when I was on a missions trip in Dominican last year. 

     You see, this verse corresponds so excellently with the major turning point of my faith. When I read this story, all I see in this verse is that her excitement in Christ made her forget things in life that used to matter. 

     Once she met Jesus, the water she had traveled a great distance in sweltering sun for meant nothing anymore. She left behind the most important things for the promise of new life.

     Others looked in from the outside (verse 27) and were confused about this peculiar acquaintance, and wondered why Jesus cared about this woman so much. 

Over the past year and a half,  I have had to let go of things in my life that were so dear to me 

... and so so painful to leave behind. 

My world was turned upside down.

  But when you come face to face with your Savior, everything else that used to matter simply 

      f a d e s  a w a y    . . . . 

     

     If not for His gentleness and unceasing presence in my life, these losses would have been tragic to me. And not to say that I didn't experience great suffering and heartache during this particular season in my life. Faith in Christ makes things possible, not easy. 

For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. (James 1:3)