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Our lives experience moments of spiritual insight and breakthroughs that dramatically lurch us forward in our spiritual maturity. Such was this moment with the woman at the well. Previously she had known something about theology, but now she had a glimmer of insight into the Son of God.

Before, this woman had discussed concepts about God, now she was speaking face to face with Him. There is a world of difference! As she conversed with Jesus, her eyes were gradually opened to the profound reality of God’s presence in her life. This was no ordinary discussion!

Christ wants to enter such conversations with you. As you present your thoughts and questions to Him, He will gradually help you gain a clearer vision of Him. He will not allow you to remain merely in the world of speculation. He will move you into a clearer and deeper understanding of Himself. Ultimately theology is not speculation on doctrines, but an understanding of the truths of God Himself.

Never stop short of Christ! Don’t merely read books about God for your information, but always for your transformation. Don’t simply inform Christ of your doctrinal beliefs. Listen for His response. One word from Christ to your life can change everything!

God needs nothing from us. He is entirely self-sufficient. And, if He did need anything, He has legions of mighty angels standing at the ready to instantly do His slightest bidding. In light of this, it seems incredible that God seeks after anything. But He does.

God seeks worshipers. Not just any worshipers, but those who will worship Him in spirit and truth.

It is possible to attend a worship service without worshiping God. We can praise Him with our mouth while our heart is far from Him. We can sing beautiful sounding songs to Him while the lyrics are filled with falsehood. We can wear our finest clothes to church while our hands are covered in blood from the treacherous dealings we have had with others. God is not looking for just any kind of worshiper.

Are you tired of simply attending church? Have you grown bored with singing the same songs each Sunday? Do you find the pastor’s sermons uninspiring? Let God transform your worship into that which pleases Him. Approach Him at a spiritual level, in absolute truth. God is looking for you.

It is always more comfortable to debate theological fine points than to discuss our own walk with God.

Some people love a theological debate. They can loudly proclaim the shortcomings of other people’s doctrinal beliefs. They can arrogantly announce their positions on theological subjects. Yet their life can be in total disarray. Their character can be far from Christ-like. Their love for others may be non-existent. Too many people would rather discuss theological issues than to have Christ transform them.

The woman at the well tried to divert Jesus from getting too close to the real issues of her life, but He was undeterred. Theology is important and people do well to work their own beliefs out carefully. But at the end of the day it will not be what we claimed to believe, but what we did with the Person of Jesus that will matter.

In all of your discussions about religion and theology, is your life being transformed to be more like Christ? Is your life glorifying Christ more today than it was yesterday?

Jesus always asked the most penetrating and unsettling questions! He wasn’t much on small talk!

The woman at the well wanted to chatter about popular theories and theological hairsplitting. Instead, Jesus focused their discussion on her need. Jesus had no intention of leaving that encounter merely having discussed the weather and weekend sports scores! He wanted to help another person be set free. So He asked a question that opened her life up to a meaningful discussion.

This woman had based her life’s hope in finding the right husband. She’d had five already. So Jesus steered their conversation to her idol. Once He had exposed her false god, He could then lead her to the true God.

It is amazing how the right question can transform a conversation. With that question, Jesus took command of the discussion and began the process of bringing the hurting woman to salvation.

Of course, if we are always talking about ourselves, and our interests, we can’t be opening people up to the Gospel. That comes through demonstrating an interest in others and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us as we engage people in conversations that matter.

People are constantly searching for something that satisfies. The media bombards us with advertisements promising to meet the deepest needs of our lives. Billions of dollars are spent annually in a vain pursuit of happiness. People know there should be more to their life, but they can’t seem to find it.

The woman at the well had been searching all her life for that elusive joy. She had assumed it could be found in relationships, but she had been repeatedly disappointed. She had spent herself and ruined her reputation, yet had come up empty.

Jesus spoke to the deepest need of the woman’s soul. He led her to the source of life. He explained that, in Him, she could have a fountain of living water bubbling up within her. No longer would she need to find happiness in something outside of herself. Now the source of life would be continually overflowing within her.

If you are a believer, you have this same fountain springing up within your soul as well. Are you being refreshed? Or, do you need to tap into it once again?

It did not take long for the woman at the well to realize she was not having a normal conversation. Expecting racism or condescension, she was unprepared for the way Jesus treated her.

In modern society, there are certain protocols people follow. We don’t discuss certain topics. We don’t ask particular questions. We stay on the surface and play it safe.

Jesus often scandalized and surprised people when they talked with Him. He did the unexpected. He didn’t simply follow the script. He caught people off guard. He didn’t do this to offend or to be different. He did it because he never wasted a conversation. He got to the point. He knew He had the words of life so He spent sparse time on small talk.

The woman at the well would not have been the kind of divine appointment Jesus might have expected. After all, men did not speak to women in public, especially someone of her notorious lifestyle. Even though Jesus was thirsty, He would have been expected to wait until His disciple returned or a more reputable person arrived at the well.

In fact, the woman was startled that Jesus addressed her. She was accustomed to being shunned and ridiculed. But she was clearly the appointment God the Father had for His Son. We don’t know all that Jesus knew about the woman at that moment. Perhaps in His divinity, He immediately knew her entire story. Or, perhaps as He engaged her in conversation, the Spirit guided Him to know what to say. However, what is clear is that, as Jesus engaged the woman in conversation, He began to guide her on a journey to freedom.

It is tempting to squander our conversations. Perhaps we allow shyness to overcome us so we don’t initiate a dialogue with a stranger. Or we keep our talk “safe” by discussing such innocuous subjects as the weather and sports. Or we chat away but with no purpose or goal in mind.

It is clear that as Jesus spoke with this woman, He had a destination He was heading toward. He wanted this woman to experience forgiveness and wholeness. Jesus was maximizing every word He spoke.

How redemptive are your conversations?

This verse can slip right by us as we read this inspiring chapter. But it ought not to. Jesus was weary. He was not impervious to the basic human needs of food and rest. Jesus was a busy person. He had just walked a long distance. He needed rest. In fact, He was so weary His disciples left Him behind at the well while they went foraging for food.

Can God use us when we are tired? Can we still exert a spiritual influence even when we are weary to the bone? We can, if we remain alert.

Consider how many opportunities to serve God we have missed because we were distracted by our physical needs. We were hungry as we entered the restaurant and so we had no time to engage our waiter in small talk. We were exhausted at day’s end and so we declined to play basketball with our teenage son in the driveway when we arrived home. We were tired as we sat in our seat on the plane and so we closed our eyes to rest instead of engaging our fellow passenger next to us in conversation.

Don’t ever assume that because you are tired or hungry or busy that you are “off duty” from God!

We tend to live our lives without reference to what has gone on before. As Christians, we may never have considered the Christian who prayed for us a generation or two earlier. Our own parents might not be believers, but it might surprise us to find that we have godly relatives in our family tree. Or perhaps the church we attend experienced a powerful revival in a previous era. It may be that the city where we live once underwent a major move of God. It could be that much of what we do today was greatly influenced by those who went before us.

The people of Jesus’ day were keenly aware of their heritage. Though Sychar was now a Samaritan village, it had once been a gift from the patriarch Jacob to his son Joseph. There was a well still in use that once belonged to Jacob. People were still benefiting from what earlier fathers of the faith had done.

We don’t live our lives in a vacuum. At times what people have done for evil still lingers on in a community for years afterward. At other times, a godly influence remains to bless later generations. Are you aware of the spiritual heritage of your family, church, and community? If not, take time to learn it. You might be surprised at what you find.

God does nothing by accident in your life. And, there is nowhere you can go that God is not already actively at work.

The Jewish and Samaritan people generally hated each other. Both saw the other as heretics. Racial prejudice was prevalent. Samaria simply wasn’t a place a self-respecting Jew wanted to find himself.

Yet for Jesus to get to Galilee, Samaria was the shortest route. Jesus and His disciples could have taken the circuitous path across the eastern slopes of the Jordan River, but Jesus chose not to. It was common practice in His day to avoid Samaria, but Jesus routinely rejected common practices.

So Jesus made His way directly into Samaria. Knowing that God does nothing by accident. Jesus would not have been surprised when He experienced a divine appointment at a well.

At times God grants us divine appointments. What might appear to us to be a mundane trip or meeting can actually be a part of God’s plan. We don’t always recognize that at the time, but we can often see it in hindsight.

What appointments, trips, and meetings do you have this week that God might be intending to use for His own purposes?