Three Ways Jesus Has the Final Say With the Woman at the WellSample

I was a teen mom. I got pregnant at 18, was unmarried, and was unsure of everything. Even though I then got married, gave my heart to the Lord, and we eventually added to our family, I lived in the shame of my choices for a very long time. I tried to hide that part of my past for so long from fear of what others would believe about me; what they would say. I cringed anytime someone would ask how long we’d been married and how old our daughter was. I was wrapped up in so much shame that even though I was saved, I couldn’t see how Jesus could ever use me.

I see this exact shame-filled hiding and insecurity in the Samaritan woman at the well. I see it in her decision to intentionally draw water alone at the hottest part of the day so that she’d run into no one. But Jesus had the final say.

We find her encounter with Jesus in John 4:1-42. Take a few minutes to read this passage all the way through. I want us to have the full picture of what’s happening here before we break it down.

Right away we find Jesus weary from travel so He sits by the well to rest. The woman approaches, and in verse 7 we see Jesus ask her for a drink. Now, I need us to see the gravity of this situation due to the culture of the time. First of all, she was a woman. Alone. And men didn’t normally socialize or even acknowledge the presence of women during this time. Women were very much less than- in this culture. Secondly, she was a Samaritan woman. Jews and Samaritans had bad blood between them so it wasn’t common for a Jew to strike up a conversation with a Samaritan. And lastly, she was an outcast Samaritan woman. She was the lowest of the low in her society. Which again is why she was drawing water in the middle of the day and not in the early morning or late evening like the other women.

So, when Jesus asks her for a drink, she’s taken aback. And basically, she says to Him, “Who am I? I’m a nobody. I’m nothing. You couldn’t possibly want to use me to help you.”

This is, first, where I see myself in her. Jesus asks her for help, and her response comes from living in the shame of her past choices, her current choices, and what she believes about herself.

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve questioned God in this same way. “Who am I? A teen mom who made stupid choices and messed up big time. You can’t use me. There’s no way you even want to use me.”

I’m sure you have your very own “Who am I?” moments with Jesus.

But Jesus doesn’t see us by our past choices. He meets us where we are, and He speaks truth over us. He has the final say. Let’s look at His response to the Samaritan woman in verse 10,

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

She questioned Jesus with “Who am I?” and His response was to show her it’s not about who she thinks she is or what she’s done, but about who He is and what He can do. She’d lived in her shame for so long and made so many decisions from that place that she couldn’t see the way out, sitting right in front of her. Jesus knew where her focus was. He knew she’d resigned herself to being worthless and unusable. And He took that moment to show her that He wanted to use her because of who He was, not based on who she believed she was.

We are so quick to count ourselves out because of our past or maybe even what we’re currently going through, but I want to remind you that Jesus comes to where you are. He has the final say.

Dear Heavenly Father, I confess to You today that I’ve allowed the shame and choices of my past to dictate my obedience to You. I recognize myself in this woman and I desire to drink of Your living water and partake in all You have for me. Help my eyes to look past my shame and direct my gaze on You. Help my mind to take the lie-ridden thoughts captive and to meditate on Your truth. Heal the brokenness of my heart and wash over me with Your unconditional love and abounding grace. I open my hands with all they carry and surrender it over to You and Your perfect will for my life. I love You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.