Walk Run Soar: Discovering God's Presence on Life's Trail Sample

The Road Less Traveled 

Read John 4:1-15 

In his famous poem “The Road Less Traveled,” Robert Frost talks about how walking the road less traveled can make all the difference in life. Throughout the New Testament, we witness how Jesus often walked unexpected, less-traveled routes. 

He was intentional in John 4 about crossing paths with a Samaritan woman at a particular well. Jews during Jesus’s time often avoided the region of Samaria. In fact, they would go the long way, so they would not cross paths with Samaritans, whom they believed to be unclean. 

This woman who Jesus meets and asks for a drink at the well had endured trauma. She had five husbands in a time when women were not allowed to divorce men. She carried the burden of relational trauma and perhaps other kinds of abuse. She was an outsider in her community. Even the disciples questioned Jesus for having a conversation with this Samaritan woman. Men did not talk to women, and Jews did not talk to Samaritans. 

Jesus goes to the well with the purpose of healing this woman and revealing himself as the Messiah. 

He tells the woman, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.  But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life” (John 4:13 nlt). 

Jesus spoke to her about a Living Water that runs like a spring and nourishes, heals, and brings eternal life. This water differed from still, stagnant water that came from a well. Jesus declared that He was the Messiah who brings new life. 

Jesus saw this woman’s profound need and offered her Living Water, which far surpassed anything she could draw from a well. The water—Jesus himself—satisfied her thirst for real love. She walked to the well, burdened by guilt, shame, and emptiness. She was parched. But after hearing from Jesus, her heart was soaring.

She rushed—she ran—to tell others about her encounter with the Messiah. She was granted the privilege of declaring her testimony—her “glory story”—to others in her community. She pointed them back to Jesus.

Like the Samaritan woman, we need to be nourished by God’s Living Water. When we are burdened by stress, uncertainty, or even past trauma, we are invited to go to Jesus, who is the purest water source. He longs to hydrate us through His word and His presence so we can experience renewal and true flourishing.

FAITH STEP: What kinds of trauma have you endured in your life? Trauma can come through direct experience, witnessing an event as it occurs, hearing about an event that has happened to someone close or a member of one’s race, or even through repeated exposure to a traumatic event on social media. Take a prayer walk or run and share with God about your trauma. Let Him pour Living Water into your wounds. 

This 5-day devotional is inspired by the book Walk, Run, Soar: A 52-Week Running Devotional by Dorina Gilmore Young and Shawn Young. Walk, Run, Soar, will motivate you to hit your fitness goals while strengthening your faith. Learn more at http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/walk-run-soar/403320