Thirsty

We've been doing a Bible study on the Women of the Bible by Ann Spangler and Jean E. Syswerda.  This weeks lady was the Samaritan woman at the well.  

I believe this woman was empty.  Dissatisfied with herself and life.  She looked to the world to fill the empty longing in her soul.  I've done that also.  I've looked to drugs, alcohol, food, coffee, entertainment.  Sometimes I still look to coffee or food in times of stress.  And it never works!

Reading about this woman, I see her hiding.  She felt too ashamed and shunned to come to the well in the cool of the day when they other women came to fill their buckets and socialize with each other.  So she came in the middle, hottest part of the day when she go complete her task alone.  Can yo just feel her loneliness?  I can.  I have often hidden how much I eat in excess, how many cups of coffee I have.  When I was an addict and alcoholic, life was a constant, daily, day after day time of hiding myself and my addictions.  This woman sought her worth, her satisfaction in relationships.  It made her a social outcast in her society.  It did the opposite of what she was seeking.  She was lonely and in hiding.

Now along comes Jesus.  A Jewish man walking in Samaria!  (Most Jews avoided this area as they despised the Samaritans who they considered unclean half breeds).  And He walked specifically to this outcast Samaritan woman and started a conversation with, breaking all societal rules and customs.  

Jesus had a mission.  He was looking for this woman and looking to claim the Samaritans as part of the family of God.  He knew exactly where He was going and what He was going to do.  Nothing is ever left to chance with God!  He came to fill the Samaritans with Himself.  This woman was the one sheep.  Jesus left the ninety-nine to find her. And He had a purpose for her as well.  She was to be His messenger to the Samaritans of her village.   Luke 15:3-7 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Where are you looking for your satisfaction?  We are you looking for acceptance, belonging?  There is nothing on the earth that will fill you.  I could never get more that an momentary satisfaction from drugs, food, coffee, etc.  Shortly after I was finished I'd want more.  These things left me feeling empty and guilty.  I can so relate to this woman.  But Jesus offers true satisfaction.  Lasting, eternal fulfillment.  John 4:13-14    Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 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.”

The Lord desires to satisfy us.  We need only to come to Him and believe.  He promises!  Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Can you imagine being this woman?  Nothing she could do would ever earn her the acceptance and belonging she sought.  Nothing could erase her past in the eyes of the people in her village.  Nothing humanly possible that is.  But Jesus saw her heart, her need and He reached out and changed her life.  

We never hear about this woman again in the Bible.  But we see in this passage a whole town that was changed because Jesus sought out this one lonely, broken outcast.  He can and will do this for us too.  he seeks us, and all we need to do is open our hearts to Him.  Psalm 90:14  Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.

John 4:4-42  4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.  

9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.  She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”  10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”  11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”  13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 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.”  15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be 9thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”  6 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.  17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.  Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”  19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”  21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”  25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”  26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”  27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.  31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”  32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”  33 “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.  34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe[e] for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. 38 I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”  39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” 40 When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, 41 long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. 42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Lord, thank You for this beautiful story.  Thank You that Your love knows no boundaries.  You love envelopes each and every one of us right where we are.  Help us to seek only You for our fulfillment.  Psalm 119:37  Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.  There is life and satisfaction only in You.  I am amazed at how you seek us.  And so very grateful.  Let us seek you the same way!  In Jesus Name.  Amen.