Meditate
On
Pursued by God
But He
needed to go through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria which is called
Sychar...Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His
journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria
came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
John
4:4–7
I
encourage you to read the remarkable story of the Samaritan woman in John 4.
Considered a woman with a shady past, she was gossiped about in her village and
probably shunned for being a home wrecker, a “stealer of husbands.” Now, hers
is not a fictional story. She was a real person, just like you and me. Her
problems and pain, like many of ours, were real and hounded her every day…until
she encountered a very real Savior!
Despite
the custom of the Jews of that day to avoid any contact with the Samaritans,
whom they perceived as spiritually inferior, John records that as Jesus was
traveling from Judea to Galilee, “He had to go through Samaria” (John 4:4, NLT,
emphasis mine). Pause with me and think about these words for a moment: Had to.
Needed to. Must. Words that speak not just of necessity, but underscore a
steady resolve and even urgency! Jesus had deliberately scheduled a divine
appointment with the woman at the well, though she knew nothing about it.
We know
from the account that this ostracized, lonely woman had a life-transforming
conversation with Jesus at the well. But make no mistake—it wasn’t she who
sought out Jesus to talk to Him. It was the Savior who pursued the one whom
others shunned. Do you know that He is still doing that today?
Do you
have a past that you are ashamed of? Are you struggling to overcome something
that you know is destroying you? Do you feel all alone and that no one
understands the pain you are going through?
I want
you to know that Jesus hasn’t changed. As He was for the Samaritan woman, the
loving Savior is still your very present help in your time of need (see Ps.
46:1). He knows the suffering, shame, and struggles you are going through right
now. And even if what you are going through is a consequence of bad life
choices and mistakes of your own doing, He doesn’t abandon and forsake you.
No—a thousand times, no! He goes out of the way to have a personal appointment
with you, to restore and rescue you. The fact that you are reading this right
now is a confirmation that Jesus is reaching out to you with His love, grace,
and forgiveness.
Talk to Him as the woman did. Taste and touch His grace
and compassion for you as she did. And like her, discover Jesus’ forgiveness,
freedom, and strength to walk into a bright new future.
BLESSINGS
JOSEPH PRINCE
