But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
- John 4:14
Have you heard the story of the woman at the well?
This sweet woman. I could relate to her in many ways. As Jesus asked her for a drink from the well I could feel the pain from her past rejection resonating by her answer. “You are a jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” Jesus kindly responds and tells 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.” That’s all she wanted, a breath of fresh air, living water, peace. To be loved. To not be rejected by the people she thought she could trust. She wanted to feel whole. To be happy. To be the girl she was before the hurt, trauma, pain, abuse, rejection, abandonment, broken hearts and broken promises occurred.
Jesus told her everyone who drinks the water he gives will never thirst again. I can relate to
Photine skepticism when he says this. She had been hurt so deeply that she wondered if this
was even possible. So she tells him okay, then give me this water so I won’t be thirsty. Jesus
tells her to bring her husband and come back. She tells Jesus, she doesn’t have a husband.
Jesus tells her “you are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had
five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is
quite right.” Poor Photine. I too have felt the shame society places on you for being
divorced. But what is worse is the shame and condemnation you place on yourself for failing.
Not once, but twice. I had tried everything in my might to make my marriages work. I
couldn’t change the outcome either time. I pretended to be okay until I realized I was not
okay. I realized the shame was trapping me in my own personal prison. I was so ashamed of
my past until I watched the Chosen episode about the woman at the well when Jesus tells
Photine “God is spirit. All that matters is you worship him in heart, mind, spirit and it won’t
matter where you are from or what you have done.” Photine says; she doesn’t trust in anyone or anything. Jesus tells her; he is the Messiah and reveals what he knows about her past. Jesus revealing to Photine he is the Messiah is a huge revelation. He chose her. He knew she was rejected by others. But he makes it clear he does not reject her. He chose her because he wanted to use her to tell everyone. She became the first woman to evangelize to others. Many believed in Jesus because of her.
We may be bruised, battered, embarrassed and down. But our scars are a reminder that Jesus wants to use us. He chooses us. I have confidence in the fact that our mess becomes messages so I like Photine, will continue to share how he has healed me, and will help others!
Amanda Bengston
Prayer Team Lead
