Psalms 46-48

Acts 28

“Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done. Could this be the Messiah?’  — John 4:28-29

How do we know when our life is changed by Christ? The immediate effect of the Samaritan woman realizing she was meeting with the Messiah and wanting the living water He was offering was that she had an irresistible desire to go back home and tell everybody else about Him. Jesus says of the living water He offers: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John adds, “By this [Jesus] meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive” (John 7:37-39). In other words, when we come to Jesus and drink, we come to Him and take the Spirit of God into our life, the One who satisfies the deepest need of our heart. We will discover that out of our heart will flow a river of living water, reaching out to others and becoming a source of blessing to other people.

        This is why we are not surprised that as a result of the Samaritan woman’s faith, “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in [Jesus] because of the woman’s testimony...” (John 4:39). What was the Samaritan woman’s testimony? She met Jesus at the well. When most would go draw water in the cool morning or evening, this woman went alone during the heat of the day because she was embarrassed, ashamed and ostracized. But her life changed when she encountered Jesus, and her identity was no longer defined by her past but who she is in Christ. When Jesus points out sin to us, it is never to condemn, humiliate or judge us, but to clean and change us. When we know what it is to be clean and what it is to drink the water of the Spirit of God who goes deep into our heart and life, we want others to know too.

        She happily declared to all, “He told me everything I’ve ever done,” then pointed to Jesus asking, “Could this be the Messiah?” This drew the other Samaritans to encounter Jesus as well. “They urged Him to stay with them....And because of His words many more became believers.” After two days, “They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this Man really is the Saviour of the world” (John 4:40-42).

        As Christians, may our testimony, like that of the Samaritan woman, be used in such a way to bring others to encounter the Messiah and drink deeply of the living water that He offers.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You truly are the Saviour of the world. Thank You for the people You used in my life to draw me to You, and may I be a similar source of blessing to others.