Jesus answered 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.” – John 4:10

She was going to the well to draw water at the hottest time of the day and ran into a talkative Jewish man. Little did she know this man would not only change her life, but the course of history.

The woman at the well is all of us — and this passage is a great study in how God communicates with us in the course of our every day lives. Do we hear Him though?

Jesus first says to her, “Will you give me a drink?”

Sometimes He reaches out to us and just asks for a little bit of attention. Will you do this for Me? Will you be patient with this cashier, will you give that $5 to that homeless man, will you comfort that crying child who lost his mom?

She answers Him that she’s a Samaritan, and that Jews don’t associate with Samaritans. That sounds a lot like, “Well, that’s really not my problem though,” which is pretty much how we answer a lot of God’s promptings.

He answered her with that cryptic line that if she knew who He was, she would ask Him for a drink instead.

Folks, you never know who you’re talking to. Even if it’s your oldest friend, you’re still directly speaking to Jesus when you choose to help or be kind or not.

And yet, she’s still snappish. “You don’t have a bucket and this is a deep well. Are you better than Jacob, who built the well?”

She’s probably tired. She may think He’s trying to flirt (seriously, girls… how often are we dismissive to an attentive man because we ASSUME he wants THAT kind of attention?). She may think He’s crazy. She doesn’t have time for any of that. So when Jesus responds that all who drink the water from that well will be thirsty again but that those who drink from His water would never thirst, she may have rolled her eyes.

Her answer in today’s language equates to, “Okay then, dude. Give me some of this water you’re talking about so I won’t have to keep coming out here to this well in the heat every day.”

“Get your husband,” He replies, and she snaps back that she doesn’t have one. I’m sure that was a little bit of a trigger for her.

When He tells her He knows that, and that she’s had five and is currently living with a man she’s not married to, He has her attention, FINALLY.

But she’s still annoyed. “Yeah, yeah. I can tell you’re a prophet, but your people have written all these rules about how and where we can worship, so.”

Y’all. Have you realized yet that this is a conversation with every one of us, and with every non-believer? Have you had occasion to talk to someone who has said, “I can tell your faith means a lot to you, but I don’t like the way your church treats people”?

Jesus goes on to tell her that those rules have gone to the wayside. The time had come when people were free to worship the Lord from anywhere and everywhere. She repliles that she knows that the Messiah will clear everything up.

“You’re speaking to Him,” Jesus said.

That’s when her poor tired heart finally allowed her to see Him. She had thrown up every defense she had to His kindness. She had kept Him at a distance and been dismissive and snappish and what had He done to her besides be a kind stranger when she didn’t have time for it? And suddenly her eyes are open.

We don’t know what was said next, but they continue to talk until the disciples come back. When she’d learned enough, she ran toward the town, excited about what He’d revealed to her.

Why did Jesus, who was so deliberate about who He told of His divinity at what time, choose a tired, relationship-challenged, gentile woman who was probably something of a cast out, to tell His Truth to?

I can only guess it’s because sometimes we all need encouragement. We’re all downtrodden and tired and overworked and overwhelmed and then Jesus comes to sit with us and give us some of His refreshment…

Her heart was open to His teachings. His words meant so much to her that she HAD to share them. She was exactly the right person.

Do you run and tell the world who He is after that? Do you take His teachings back to your community and share the difference He has made?

And think of this: Little did the tired Samaritan woman at the well know, after all her trials and failed marriages and social challenges, the day she invested her faith in a stranger at the well would be the day she would be remembered for.

Remember to show kindness to strangers. As such, many have entertained angels (or Jesus) unawares. ❤️