My eyes scanned the dimly lit room as I started my message. This would be the last session of the conference I co-hosted in Iceland. The weekend had been filled with many significant moments for the women attending and the ones who had traveled far to help set it up. But even as I whispered prayers in my heart and then voiced an opening one out loud for the audience, I couldn’t deny the frustration fogging my brain nor the stress that had tightened my shoulders all weekend. Would the experiences in the conference room of this hotel last beyond the conference weekend? Did everyone receive what they needed to flourish in an often hard spiritual climate?
I planned to share about the Samaritan woman and how Jesus satisfied her thirst in a significant way. Truly a message that all of us needed to hear, but as my eyes bounced from face to face, I sensed there were more women – like me — who craved nourishment of a different kind.
These women were preschool and elementary school teachers, counselors, social workers, restaurant owners, and business leaders. Some were on the verge of giving birth to new babies and others held infants not their own so that young moms could respond to altars if needed. Some bustled around, prepping the atmosphere, serving sacrificially in the background. Another woman led young girls in a choreographed dance that stirred worship in the room, while the mothers of those daughters watched on with pride.
My gaze flitted over their faces as thoughts rose and poured out of my mouth. “Maybe you are the woman who needs an encounter in this moment,” I said, pausing for the words to be translated into their heart language. “Or maybe you are the well.”
John 4 tells the story of how Jesus stopped at Jacob’s well, asked a woman for a drink, and then offered her living water.
“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
John 4:11-12 NIV
We often focus on the woman. But have you ever considered the role of Jacob in this story? Surely Jacob couldn’t predict or fully comprehend the future significance of the property he purchased in Shechem (Genesis 33:19). He simply needed to provide sustenance for his growing family. But God’s provision for one family trickled through the centuries to prepare a meeting place between a lonely, multi-married woman and the only One who could bring her true satisfaction.
I wonder if we consider the implications of the work we start that was initially meant to meet personal needs or that overflowed from an inner passion. Jesus doesn’t always meet people at church altars. He may encounter an individual at a park bench, on a street corner, or in a movie seat.
“Perhaps you are the well.” My voice drifted across the room, calling out the women I knew and the ones I didn’t. My own struggles were reflected in their eyes.
Sometimes we are that woman from Samaria. Thirsty and searching — our shame keeping us hidden in the hottest time of the day. Sometimes we are her, in need of a drink that we cannot provide for ourselves and longing for a way out of the labyrinth of choices we made or were made for us. Sometimes we do need to know that we are the woman that Jesus will inconvenience Himself for, the one that will cause Him to stop in the hottest part of the day to start a conversation in a way that may not seem socially acceptable.
But perhaps in certain moments, there are some of us that need to know that we are the well. That where we are, what we’ve done, and what we are doing has been set in place by God’s divine hand for other people to encounter Him. Maybe you are the well, steady and stable and setting the stage for someone to encounter the solution they’ve been waiting for.
Maybe you are the sycamore tree planted in the right location so that a shunned man who can’t see over the crowd can climb up and get a glimpse of Jesus (Luke 19:1-10).
Even when you can’t see the immediate fruit, God sees the full picture of what He intends to do through your obedience. Your business, classroom, restaurant, agency, living room — these facilitate God-encounters too. Instead of striving to be like someone else or boxed in by the way others influence, consider that you may be right where you need to be for the Savior and a sinner to have a seat. A place where others can come to taste and see.
I can’t comprehend the depth of the thoughts. Hmmmm, it’s like Snow White in wishing I’m wishing to follow… singing in front of well to echo her own voice.
I will review when my mind is clear for comprehending.
Wonderful, sometimes it takes a bit for things to sink in :).
I re read again and maybe so. I don’t have any first fruit. But maybe so, who can tell. The pilgrims in the journey ahead of us some may have died has me as the fruit but not in the spiritual dimension, but if I can rightly comprehend it, it means when we have Christ, He gave us ability that now can hold water so others can experience the thirst quenching power of the lamb in us.
Amen!
Amen!
Yes! There are times where we are the ones needing Jesus to encounter us for a specific reason and sometimes we need to be encouraged to remember that God is using what He’s given us to as a place where He can encounter others. Every part we play matters to Him.
Thank you so much for this! It’s a perspective I hadn’t considered in all my times reading about the woman at the well, Zacchaeus, and many other scriptural accounts. There are many times where I feel like my ministries aren’t really making a difference, but as you so beautifully said, God may be working in them in ways I will never know.
Yes! I’m definitely thankful for visible and immediate fruit, but this gives us a more birds-eye view of what God may be doing even when we can’t initially perceive it. There are so many things we won’t see the outcome of on this side of eternity but that is where faith and trust and steady obedience shine.
This is a powerful post. Wow! I got the chills reading and rereading it. Thank you for sharing with us today, Jenny.
I’m so glad it met you where you are! Thank you for reading!
Thank you, Jenny! For those of us who serve in the operational areas of church, we may spend hours each week in prayer and preparation for worship services, special events, etc. We willingly pour ourselves out to provide a place of spiritual comfort for others to meet with Jesus and be transformed.
Yet, even within the routine of serving, I need to be refilled with living water too. May we make much of Jesus wherever He leads. 🙂
I definitely feel that! Sometimes I am the one leading and speaking but most of the time, I am working within an administrative role. Those parts may not seem as fun as the most out front ones, but over the years I have delighted in the part my role plays in helping others encounter God. There has definitely been frustration, haha, especially when others perceive that work in a certain way, but my hope is that I continue to choose delight in the midst.
And your last sentence “May we make much of Jesus wherever He leads.” Yes and amen!
Jenny,
Thank YOU for this new perspective with the focus on the well rather than the woman.
We are each called wherever we are!
Blessings to your for answering the call!
Sending you Summer Joy…in Iceland!
Lisa Wilt
PS _ I shared your post x 2 because I believe it will help others too with a new perspective!
Thank you for the shares and for sending some warm summer my way! I definitely hope women are encouraged about the impact they are making, whatever what they do looks like! Blessings to you Lisa!
Wow.. interesting post . Thankyou for this perspective.. it made me see that I might be the well . So I need to be filled up constantly fully engaged in The Lords Word.. I volunteer In The Senior Community Coffee Shop here in British Columbia Burnaby Canada and I get to chat with many folks as I serve them coffee and treats every Friday . So many needs out there in our world today and Jesus Christ is definitely the answer for hurting lonely wondering hearts. The living water I. That well is the answer. The Lord bless you and your ministry dear sister.
I love what you are getting to do! Who knows how many ways you have carried Jesus into every person you serve. As you get filled up, you continue to overflow. Blessings to you as well as you interact in what seems like a very cozy coffee shop!
Your message is a powerful one! As we live our lives with the Lord, we are sent to go and tell others and that looks different throughout our lives.
My husband is a pastor for a small church in the Central Valley of California. This week we will have been here 30 years! Many years ago we began to include a blessing at the end of each service and we all know it by heart now and live it daily.
“You go nowhere by accident. Wherever you go, God is sending you. Wherever you are, our Lord has a purpose for you being there. Christ who indwells you has something he wants to do through you where you are. Believe this and go in His grace and power.” (This was the blessing by Richard Halverson, former chaplain for U.S. Senate)
With this in mind, we interact with others and know that God had big plans that we cannot understand…and in His power, we go and share with the world.
Yes! And that blessing is incredible. Thank you for sharing that with us here. And congrats on 30 years of pastoring! That is an amazing accomplishment and I’m sure a steady source of nourishment and encounter for the people of your community.
Jenny,
We are only asked to plant seeds. Almost every Friday I spend about 3+hrs. volunteering at Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry. We have made an impact on many lives. Some people have actually made commitments to Christ. Once a month my church cooks for Recovery Soldiers (men) (Christian addiction recovery program). Some of the men come over & join us for church on Sunday. A couple have become pastors. You never know how your actions will affect others. Working hard to shine God’s light in this world.
Blessings 🙂