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An Unexpected Encounter

The woman from Sychar noticed Someone resting nearby who was dusty and weary. She could tell from His appearance that He was a Jew. She tried to focus on her task, hoping that He would not speak to her. Not today, she thought. Oh, please, just let me draw water and make it back home without any trouble. She lowered her jar into the well.  

Jesus was revolutionary in His days on earth. He never bowed to convention or ungodly cultural norms. He chose to travel through Samaria that day. He could have chosen a different route to avoid the Samaritan village, but He decided to journey through it instead.

“Will you give Me a drink?” Softly, He spoke. His gaze took in her anxiety and agitation. Is He speaking to me? she wondered. Years of unpleasant exchanges with Jews fueled her bitter response. “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (John 4: 9 NIV). He had no vessel to draw water, so she questioned His motives. Besides, it was forbidden for a Jew to drink from any vessel touched by a Samaritan woman, who was considered perpetually unclean. 

Jesus’ attitude toward her was undoubtedly unconventional. Not only did He choose to speak to a woman, but He also dared to speak to a Samaritan woman. A rabbi would never converse openly with a woman, especially a Samaritan woman who was known as sinful and considered unclean. Nevertheless, Jesus chose to reach out to her.

His patience with her curt responses surprised 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” (verse 10). What is He talking about? she thought to herself. Was there some kind of water that could quench her physical thirst and wash away more than the dust that coated her feet? Could it wash away the shame of her damaged heart? 

How many times do we try to satisfy our deepest needs with “water” that cannot take away that thirst, that longing for love and meaning? We may have opened our heart so many times to the wrong people that we feel as if we were in a pit, not in front of a well. 

Open your eyes and see that against all the odds today, Jesus decided to come your way and meet you right where you are. Allow this unexpected encounter to change your life forever.

Journal Prompt

Write a few sentences to describe the most profound needs in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any ways you might be substituting ungodly sources for answers to those needs.