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I should have gotten out of bed last night when I woke up thinking about a story, so I pray the Holy Spirit helps me share this message as it was intended. It is a story in John I have read multiple times but never understood as I do this morning. Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4: 3-41).
The Samaritan woman is an outcast, she is a victim who carries the weight of her shame with her on her lonely walks in the noon day sun to get water (6-8). I imagine the deepness of her depression when Jesus asks her for a drink of water. Have you ever felt like if someone knew who you were, or what you had done they could never possibly love you? That cycle of shame that promotes depression, addiction, and destruction of our earthly bodies? I do, and so did that Samaritan woman at the well that Jacob built. Her response to Jesus when offered the life-giving water was not unlike mine in many Seasons. She does not understand what Jesus is offering, she sees the “easy button” and jumps at the opportunity to skip trips to the well. I wonder how many times God tossed me a lifeline and I did not see it because I was waiting on a ladder. But then it all changes for that woman at the well, Jesus pulled back the curtain and revealed he knew all about her. The five husbands, the live-in boyfriend, all her deepest darkest secrets exposed (17-18). I can feel this moment in my own life, it feels like being a helpless infant in an adult’s body, ill equipped for the World. She has a choice, and it may be the first time she has had power in her own life. She recognizes Jesus as the Messiah (26) and because of her encounter and enthusiasm many others in her town put their faith in Jesus (41-42). See back in verse 4 we are told in slightly different ways depending on the versions that Jesus HAD to go through Samaria. I think that is true, not because there was not another path but because there was good work to be done. I am, that Samaritan woman, and I pray that the Lord uses me as he used her, to share the goodness of God. You are not your past, and although that chapter may be closed it is still part of your story. Lord will use it to create a radiant tapestry of your life. That is worth repeating, THE LORD WILL USE IT TO CREATE A RADIANT TAPESTRY OF YOUR LIFE. Let him! Do not wait for a ladder when he is sending a rope. Shame keeps people sick and you are intended for greatness. Fall on your knees and talk to your Father, he loves you.
Heavenly Father, we know that you are always at work for the good of those who love you and we thank you. God, please give me the courage to share my testimony, remind me of your costly grace and mercy, given so freely and my responsibilities as a Christian. For those who are suffering, give them strength to see themselves are you see them, beautiful, radiant children of God. I love you Jesus, thank you for this day to serve you.