“Hope in the Dark”
If you’ve ever played a team sport or been in competition you know the importance of a water bottle. Man to have that during completely changes how you perform…it’s perfectly there when you need it. Amirite? Yet, so many times we treat our walk with Jesus the same way instead of trusting that in the midst of battle He has already dug an everlasting well in us that won’t run dry! Yet, we still try to fill it with the stuff of this world don’t we?
- ITS NOT ABOUT THE JAR
- The Samaritan woman is in the place called Sychar (the place of the liar and the drunkard). Jesus came to rest there waiting on her to come the to well…just like He does with each of us. She probably thought if she could just fill her jar up one more day to get through she would be okay (sound like what the bar down the street promises us?). Yet…right where she was located was the Valley of Beersheba (more on that later).
- This is where we get stuck! We all carry our jar hoping to fill it ourselves to just get through the day…but we have to go to the source. Many of us say “if my jar was just bigger, I would carry more”, “if I get the most pure water it will last longer”, “if I run out I at least know the well is down the road from me”…but we miss the point that it really isn’t about the jar but is about the well we are standing at. Some of us stand at the well of: relationships, physical appearances, careers, or homes…and pursue changes only in those areas as if our joy is contingent on that instead of the finished work of Jesus on the Cross!
- THE RIGHT WELL
- Last week we got to talk about the Valley of Beersheba (or the Valley of the Well)…this is where Jacob’s well is located. The Samaritan woman knew of the Messiah and knew that He was to come but didn’t realize she had stepped into the Valley of Oath (the Valley God made His promise to Abraham and Jacob dug his well) to see the Promise of God fulfilled right in front of her. The woman believed in Jesus, left her bucket, and ran to tell everyone she could about Jesus! When we come to the well of Jesus, God digs a well in us that flows to others.
- This is where we can get pulled away…there were 7 wells to chose from and I wonder is some of us keep going to the wrong well instead of seeking the one True Well! Jesus never asked the woman to change meet Him at the well (just like He doesn’t ask us to)…and yet we try! What if instead of worrying about carrying our jar we stood at the right well to be filled! I wonder how much different our hope would look?
Take Away:
What is the difference between a jar and a well? How do you move from trying to fill a jar from an external source to tapping into the well of Jesus that flows internally?
How does Christ in you create a well in your heart? How will this well produce your hope?
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Tyler West 