Living With Unmet Longing: A Study of the Woman at the WellSample

The woman at the well was familiar with the pain of rejection. As a Samaritan, she was rejected by the Jews. As a woman, she had been rejected by men. And as a friend, she had been rejected by women in her community.

We all know how painful rejection is. We’ve all felt out of place for one reason or another, unworthy of belonging to a specific person or group of people. We’ve all had dark whispers of doubt, wondering to ourselves, What is wrong with me? We don’t feel beautiful enough, or rich enough, or smart enough, or righteous enough.

Over time, the shame of rejection seeps into our souls and becomes toxic, distorting our identity. We begin to believe we are disgusting to our core—like cutting an overripe avocado and finding the inside brown and rotten.

In the book of Isaiah, God uses a metaphor to describe how he heals our shame. He paints the picture of an abandoned woman whose husband is re-claiming her and pursuing her out of love. He says, “you will no longer live in shame” (Isaiah 54:4).

The conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well is a embodied example of God’s intentional love for his people. When everyone else rejects and ridicules us, God runs toward us, opening his arms in a loving embrace.

By the end of this study, we’ll see how shame lost its toxic grip on this woman—and how you can be set free, too.

But for now, take a minute to pause and reflect. Where in your life are you experiencing the pain of rejection and the sting of shame? In what relationships or groups do you feel like you’re not enough?

Let’s take that pain to God in prayer:

Father, help me believe that I don’t have to be enough because Christ is enough. You know everything I’ve ever done, and you love me anyway. You took on my shame at the cross so I could become your child, with a place to belong forever. Help me to rest in my belonging. Please heal me from the hurt I’ve had because of human rejection. In Jesus’ name, amen.