Throughout the Bible, there are many references to water, specifically living water. In the ancient Near East, rain was rare and water was scarce. When it did finally rain and water was available, the Israelites would associate the water with God. Thus, living water became a⁣ metaphor for the presence of God.⁣⁣
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I started researching the topic of water and how it is a crucial and necessary resource for all of humanity to survive. I came across a story about a remote village in Africa where the men, women and children had to walk from their small village to a river to gather the water they⁣⁣ needed to drink, cook, wash their clothes, feed their livestock and bathe in. They made the long three-mile roundtrip, several times per day. However, the water they were filling their buckets with and consuming was toxic and filled with dangerous bacteria that was poisoning them. Yet, they were desperate to drink this water to survive. They were left with two options – drink the poisonous water, get sick and possibly die OR not drink the water and surely die. They didn’t have a choice!⁣⁣
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Don’t we live this way? Constantly drinking what this world tells us we need to drink to survive? And we drink it up! We think we have to drink it to survive in our chaotic world – the cup of progress, social status, the opinions of others, success, money and careers. Or maybe we find ourselves seeking our identity and value in relationships, filling up with – our marriage, children and family. Of course our relationships are important and we should continue to better ourselves and chase our dreams. But not at the expense of robbing us of our true identity – our true joy and peace. Anything we fill up with here on earth will always leave us thirsty. We will keep coming⁣⁣ back to fill up with things that will never quench our longing thirst.⁣⁣
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In the Bible, there is a story about a thirsty woman who has a divine appointment with a man she⁣⁣
had never met:⁣⁣
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Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— although in fact, it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So⁣⁣ he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water,⁣⁣ Jesus said to her, Will you give me 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 4:1-10).⁣⁣

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There are so many beautiful truths found in this short passage, but I want to point out a few of them.⁣⁣
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Jesus Waits For Us. The woman was coming to the well at noon, to avoid the other people from her town who usually come early in the morning. She was thirsty and desperately needed a drink. Although the text states Jesus, “had to go through Samaria”, that’s not entirely accurate. There were other ways for him to travel to Galilee. But, he had a divine appointment with this woman and he wasn’t going to miss it. As she’s walking up to the well exhausted, ashamed, alone and thirsty – there Jesus sat waiting for her. Jesus waits for you and me too! In the midst of our story, when we are lost and alone, Jesus waits for us and will go out of his way to find us.⁣⁣
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Jesus Offers Us Living Water. Jesus can see this woman is thirsty and is desperate for a drink. He also sees her thirst runs far deeper than the temporary quenching the well water provides. She’s desperate for love. She’s yearning for acceptance. She’s thirsty for peace. Jesus is offering her exactly what she needs – living water. He’s offering her something that will sustain her for the rest of her life – himself. It is a water that will always quench her insatiable thirst so that she will never have to come to the well again. However, she doesn’t yet fully grasp what this living water is.⁣⁣
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Picking up with the rest of the text found in John 4, we find the woman intrigued by Jesus’ offer of living water:⁣⁣
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Sir, the woman said, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 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? Jesus answered, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 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. 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. He told her, Go, call your husband and come back. I have no husband, she replied. Jesus said to her, You are right when you say you have no husband. 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 (John 4:11-18).⁣⁣
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Jesus Loves Us Exactly Where We Are. When I first started studying this part of the story, I thought Jesus’ questions to the woman about her relationships were cruel. He’s God after all and knew her complicated and possibly shameful history with men. Yet, he pushed into that space – a space filled with pain and exposed it. What I found is that Jesus wasn’t doing this to be hurtful, it was the most loving thing he could ever do. He could have simply explained who he was and that he was the answer to all her problems without bringing up her past. But, he didn’t want her theology, he wanted a relationship with her – all of her, despite her past and present mistakes. He was saying to her – bring me your hurts, your shames your mistakes, your pain and I will give you rest. You don’t have to hide anything from me. I love you regardless of anything you’ve ever done or ever will do. This is what Jesus is saying to you and me too. What a beautiful truth!⁣⁣
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The living water Jesus offers her is the same water he offers us. It’s a water that will never leave us thirsty and will always satisfy. When the world around us is falling apart, Jesus is our peace. He is our rock in the midst of the storm. Peace is a person and his name is Jesus! When we are filling up with the things from this world, we will always end up stressed, fearful and anxious. Why? Because anything we drink here will run out and we will constantly be in search of more. By the end of the story, the woman finally grasps that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah and ran into town to tell everyone. I love that this woman, who was ashamed of being in public just a few minutes earlier, ran into town to tell everyone about her experience: “Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (John 4:28-29).⁣⁣
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𝐀𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝗪𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐔𝐬 𝗪𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. First, did you notice she left her water jar? An encounter with Jesus gives us the courage to move past our circumstances and leave the shame behind us. When she ran into town to tell everyone what had happened, she didn’t start a discussion about theology. She simply told her story. An encounter with Jesus changes everything, where we can’t help but share our experience and transformation with others. Our stories matter. Our stories are powerful!⁣⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫? I asked myself this question several years ago after I realized that I⁣⁣ was seeking my identity from the world instead of God. I kept coming back to fill up with the⁣⁣ things of this world, that I thought defined me and gave me the peace, joy and love I so⁣⁣ desperately yearned for — my husband, children, career, education, house, money and friends. I⁣⁣ was on an emotional roller coaster. When everything was going well, I was great. But as soon as⁣⁣ something or someone threatened my peace, I’d shrink back in worry. I was tired, anxious and⁣⁣ filled with fear.⁣⁣
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The Bible says, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your⁣⁣ hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). It wasn’t until I finally surrendered my⁣⁣ life to Jesus that I found a peace that surpassed my circumstances. Instead of looking at my⁣⁣ situation, I started looking to Jesus. I found a peace that doesn’t make sense. A peace that defies⁣⁣ any situation that threatens to bury me. A peace that will never run out.⁣⁣
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You’ve got a divine appointment with Jesus. He is waiting for you to provide you a peace that⁣⁣ this world can never offer. You don’t have to clean yourself up, he loves you just the way you⁣⁣ are. Run to Jesus and fill up with the living water he provides. I promise, you will never be⁣⁣ thirsty again!⁣⁣
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Danielle Augustin inspires others to pursue their dreams and fulfill their God-given destiny.⁣⁣ Danielle believes in the power of prayer and hopes to inspire others to consistently come into the⁣⁣ presence of God, seeking His will for their lives. Danielle has a deep love for the Lord and desires⁣⁣ to share the lessons she has learned with other women in order for their lives to be transformed, so⁣⁣ that they too can walk in the full power of God and live a life of faith, purpose and joy.⁣⁣

#girlfriendrevival #danielleaugustin #samaritanwoman #womanatthewell #livingwater #faith⁣⁣
#jesus #bookofjohn #divineappointment⁣⁣