Jesus — Woman at the Well - Monday
TODAY’S VERSE
John 4:13-14a
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.” (ESV)
A few years ago, I went hiking in the late summer heat with more confidence than wisdom. I brought a single water bottle, assuming it would be enough. About halfway through the trail, the sun pressed down harder, the air grew thick, and my bottle ran dry. Every step after that felt heavier. My focus narrowed to one thought: I need water. What surprised me most was how quickly thirst overtook everything: my energy, joy, and even clarity.
By the time I reached a shaded rest area with a working fountain, relief washed over me. But as I drank, it hit me: This would not be the last time I was thirsty. This water solved the immediate problem, not the deeper reality. No matter how satisfying, it was temporary.
That moment comes to mind when I read John 4. The Samaritan woman comes to the well with her jar, expecting the same routine solution she always relied on. But Jesus gently exposes the truth beneath her daily habit. She keeps coming back because what she’s drawing from can never truly satisfy. The well meets a need for a moment, but it cannot quench a soul longing for meaning, acceptance, and purpose.
Jesus offers something entirely different—living water. Not water that must be carried, rationed, or refilled, but a source that takes up residence within us. A spring that keeps flowing even when circumstances are dry. His gift is both immediate and eternal. Scripture often connects thirst with the deep longing of the soul. Psalm 63:1 says, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Jesus doesn’t shame that thirst. He names it and meets it. Jesus is the Messiah who not only points to God but becomes the means by which our deepest thirst is satisfied.
We often keep returning to familiar wells: approval, success, distraction, control. They promise relief, but they never last. And Jesus keeps meeting us there, offering something better; not a temporary fix, but Himself. Jesus invites us to exchange the fleeting for the eternal, the shallow for the deep, the borrowed satisfaction for His overflowing grace.
APPLICATION
Where are you still drawing from wells that require constant effort but never bring lasting peace? Invite Jesus to replace the fleeting with the eternal. Let Him be your living water. Let Him flow through the dry places in your life, quenching thirst you didn’t even realize could be satisfied.
PRAYER
Jesus, You know how often I try to satisfy my soul with things that cannot sustain me. Teach me to come to You instead. Fill the dry places in my heart with Your living water, and help me trust You as my true source of life. Amen.