Welcome! Today’s devo is from guest writer Mary Boswell, and it begins at a well in Guatemala and leads straight to the woman at the well in John 4. If you’re running on empty — spiritually, emotionally, physically — Mary writes about the divine appointment that’s waiting for you too. You can catch up on all the previous devotionals here.
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 (NIV)
During my first mission trip to Guatemala, our team had an opportunity to build a house for a single mom and her children.
The laughter and joy we experienced as we tried to communicate in our broken Spanish and their broken English knit our hearts together.
The translator explained that Teresa felt seen by someone for the first time in more years than she could count.
My eyes rested on the well she used to draw water for her family.
Many of the women go to a similar well to draw water for drinking, cooking, and washing their families’ clothes. I couldn’t help but think about another woman sitting at a well who had a divine appointment with Jesus.
John 4:1-15 tells the story of Jesus meeting a woman at a well.
She was sweaty and weary from a dusty walk in the heat of the noonday sun.
Quietly, she began drawing water from the village well. She hoped the man at the well would ignore her, but her hopes were dashed as He asked her for a drink of water.
John 4:9-10 gives us her response, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” she asked.
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.”
Jews despised Samaritans and viewed them as worthless. The Jews’ dislike for the Samaritans was so great that they would take a longer route around Samaria to travel from Jerusalem to Galilee.
But John 4:4 tells us that Jesus “had to pass through Samaria.”
He could’ve traveled around Samaria like everyone else, but Jesus knew the people there needed Him.
More specifically, He had a divine appointment with the woman at the well.
Most women drew their water from the well in the cool morning hours. But this woman came alone at the hottest part of the day.
Not only was she a Samaritan, but she was also an outcast to her own people because of her life choices.
But Jesus saw her and asked for a drink.
While the woman knew she shouldn’t talk to Him, her heart cried out to understand more of what this man was saying.
Curious, she let down her guard and began talking with Jesus, wanting to understand what He was saying.
“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?” (John 4:11)
Patiently, Jesus listened to her questions and lovingly addressed her deepest needs.
“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” (John 4:13).
The Samaritan woman came to the well thirsty and in need of physical nourishment, but Jesus was there to fulfill a greater need — her spiritual thirst and hunger.
Women have many responsibilities and burdens that leave us both physically and spiritually dry. Each day, we tend to our family’s needs while carrying our own burdens.
We juggle our kids’ activities, guiding young adults or caring for aging parents while quietly wondering if there’s more to life.
We work hard to help provide for our family while struggling to overcome strongholds.
We carry the weight of our burdens until we are weary and exhausted, both physically and spiritually.
In Isaiah 55:1-2, 6, we read God’s invitation to those who are thirsty: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters… Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”
The food and drink we consume provide temporary physical nourishment. But God invites us to come to Him through Jesus, who provides true, life-sustaining nourishment to quench our spiritual thirst.
This true life-sustaining nourishment of Jesus’s living water is found through salvation in Him as we trust that He is our personal Lord and Savior.
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
Whether you feel like an outcast or are exhausted from working hard to provide for and care for others, Jesus wants you to know that He loves you and wants to meet with you as you rest in Him and study God’s Word.
When you accept the invitation to sit with Jesus, read His Word, and listen with your mind and soul, you actively participate in your divine appointment with God.
He wants you to call out to Him through prayer, sharing your needs with Him.
Will you stop right now and do that today?
About the Author
Through life’s twists and turns, Mary Boswell has learned the importance of keeping her heart focused on the Lord and seeking His calming presence through Bible Study and prayer. She is the author of the Bible Study, Come to Me: An Invitation from Jesus to Find Rest for Your Soul, available on Amazon. You can connect with her here.
P.S. If these daily devotionals are a blessing to you, please consider buying me a coffee to help keep these devotions online. You can also share it with someone who is running a hard race. They might need this reminder too. 🤗
Reflection Questions:
Has there been a time when you have felt like an outcast? If you were the Samaritan woman at the well with Jesus, how would you feel if He acknowledged you and asked for a drink?
Imagine you’re the woman sitting at the well with Jesus. Think about what you need physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Sometime today, find a few moments to sit quietly and share with Him what you need through prayer.
What adjustments can you make to ensure you have time each day for your divine appointment with the Lord?
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