There is nothing better on a hot summer day than a cool glass of lemonade and a dip in the pool. Sometimes more than a dip is necessary, though. Sometimes we need to submerge ourselves in cool water to find refreshment.
I can only imagine what it must have been like to live during the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. No cars, no air conditioners, no refrigeration, no swimming pools. Walking on dusty roads in the heat for hours upon hours. But there they both were. This woman who would daily come to draw water from the well at noon rather than morning because of her lifestyle, and Jesus who journeyed out of His way, adding hours onto an already long and what I imagine to be hot trip, to share truth with a woman He had never met.
Both parched. One searching for something, anything that would satisfy her soul, yet always coming back dry and empty. The other, Jesus—the Living Water—the One who could fill her greatest need and give her joy and true satisfaction.
An encounter with truth; that is what she needed. And so, Jesus met her at the well, began a conversation, and led her to her greatest need—Living Water.
I invite you to read the encounter of Jesus and the Woman at the Well. Then I want you to think about what refreshes your soul. My prayer is that you will agree that encountering The Truth—Jesus—Refreshes your soul in a way that nothing or no one else can, because seeing Truth and following the Truth always brings freedom.
John 4:13-14 is the crux of this passage and our Refresh series.
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Jesus’ declaration in this passage beckons us to come to Him, and His invitation to come permeates His entire ministry.
The Prophet Isaiah, spoke of this invitation to quench the thirsts of the barren soul long before Jesus’ coming.
Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. – Isaiah 55:1
Come to me.
Isn’t that what Jesus is continually saying to us?
Come to me with your problems, concerns, desires, and weariness.
Come to me and be satisfied, nourished, and nurtured.
Come to me. I am a never-ending wellspring of goodness, hope, and life.
Come to me and be renewed, restored and refreshed.
And isn’t this exactly what He does for her?
On that day, Jesus renews her faith. He, in fact, makes her a new creation. Prior to her encounter with Him, she only knew about the coming Messiah. After her encounter with Jesus, she knew Him experientially.
On that day, Jesus redeems her life—He gave the woman her life back. Never before had she been able to run into to town and converse with others. She had most likely skulked around town, hiding in the shadows, doing her best to go unnoticed. But not anymore. She confronts others with joy and confidence because she had been changed by the thirst-quenching, truth-telling power of Jesus.
On that day, Jesus refreshes her soul. The woman now had meaning, purpose and joy in her life. Her life, and the lives of others in her town, was changed forever. She became a walking testimony of new life in Christ.
When confronted with the truth of our sins and with the truth of who Jesus is, we have a choice, as well. We can either choose to acknowledge our sin and turn to Jesus, or we can ignore or excuse our sins and continue to live in bondage.
Freedom finds us at the foot of the Cross.
Freedom comes as we admit our wrongs.
Freedom refreshes us as we listen to truth and turn to our Truth-teller.
We’ve all been there, exactly in the place where this woman stood. We’ve all had that moment of truth when we had to choose to surrender to the Truth or run and try our best to hide. This woman, who by the way, is given no name in God’s Word, could be any one of us, or in fact, all of us.
We all come to Jesus broken—in need of forgiveness, healing, hope, and freedom. And the only remedy for our dry and parched souls, is to have the name of Jesus inscribed on our hearts by coming to Him.
I wonder …
- What is your story of truth?
- How does walking in the truth refresh your soul?
- Do you have Jesus’ name inscribed on your heart?
Jesus, the Truth-teller, invites you to come to Him. No matter at which well you stand—the well of redemption, the well of forgiveness, the well of barrenness, the well of turmoil, the well of hopelessness or helplessness—He’s still calling you to come. Will you?
Refreshment, renewal, restoration, and redemption await you there, friend.
