Jesus — Woman at the Well - Wednesday
TODAY’S VERSE
John 4:17–18
The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” (ESV)
A few years ago, I visited a local art restoration studio. A painting, decades old, hung tattered and faded, colors dulled, corners cracked. The artist didn’t cover its imperfections; she repaired what had been broken with careful attention, restoring both its beauty and purpose. She explained that the painting’s value wasn’t in erasing its history, but in carefully mending the places where it had suffered damage. I thought about how something once discarded could shine again when handled with care, how attention and skill could transform what was worn into something worthy of admiration.
Jesus restores in the same way. The Samaritan woman’s past was messy, marked by broken relationships, societal shame, and personal regret. She had lived a life that others might have judged harshly or dismissed. Yet when she met Jesus, He saw her as a person of value, a soul worthy of dignity and hope. He spoke truth with grace, acknowledging her story without condemnation. In that honest, compassionate exchange, her brokenness began to be redeemed.
Restoration doesn’t erase the past—it transforms it. Jesus doesn’t ignore our sins, but He reorients our identity toward the life He offers. The Messiah doesn’t simply forgive; He reinstates. He restores what shame, guilt, and sin fractured. Like the painting, we are touched by His hands, reshaped for glory, not destruction. Our scars don’t disqualify us—they become markers of a story rewritten by the One who holds eternity in His hands. As Isaiah reminds us, “I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning” (Isaiah 1:26).
We often think our failures disqualify us from God’s purpose, but Jesus proves otherwise. He invites the broken to step into wholeness. He calls the lost to find their way home. He gives dignity to those whom the world devalues. Paul emphasizes this hope in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”Restoration in Christ is not superficial—it is profound. It touches the deepest parts of our being, reconciling our past with God’s redemptive purpose. No past is too broken for Jesus to restore.
APPLICATION
Are there areas of your life where shame, regret, or failure have taken root? What if Jesus wants to touch those places and reframe them with His truth? Let Him speak life into the brokenness and accept His restoration as both a gift and a mandate for your living.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank You for restoring what sin and shame have fractured. Help me to receive Your renewal fully, and give me the courage to walk forward with the dignity, hope, and purpose You have given me. May my life reflect Your redemptive work to those around me. Amen.