Never Run Dry

Living in West Michigan, we always have access to vast amounts of fresh water within just a few miles. So it can be hard to imagine the world that the Samaritan woman, of John chapter four, lived in. They didn’t have running water, and there were no fresh water lakes nearby. Instead, they had a well that had been dug by Jacob, the nation of Israel’s namesake, about 2000 years earlier. Each day, this woman had to walk to the well and carry back the water they needed for the next day. And she wasn’t just getting water for herself, but her entire household. In this region, and at that time, they understood the value of water.

When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, he had been on a significant journey. It could have taken him and his disciples more than twenty hours to walk the sixty or so miles from Judea to Samaria. And John tells us that Jesus “was tired.” I can only imagine he was. But as we read the exchange between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, we find that it wasn’t really Jesus who was in need. Interestingly, this story never tells us that the woman drew water for Jesus, or even offered him a drink. Instead, we see that it was the woman who was in need. Jesus saw her spiritual need. And he met her there in her need. In fact, due to her account of Jesus, we’re told that many from her town became believers.

Like this woman, when we meet Jesus, we discover that our lives, our souls, are parched and in need of the living water that only Jesus offers. The water that becomes a spring welling up to eternal life. And this water isn’t something we have to run after, work for, or purchase from the local convenience store. Jesus tells the woman, and us, that the water becomes a spring within us, so that we never have to thirst again. Jesus is the source of water for our lives that will “Never Run Dry!”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being the source of eternal living water within me. Thank you for not having to go through times of being spiritually parched. I know that you are always there. Always offering a refreshing of my spirit. And Jesus, I apologize for the times when I forget to drink. When I allow myself to feel like I’m standing in the middle of the desert, thirsting for what you stand right there holding out to me. Help me to always remember that I only need to reach out and drink from the fountain that will never run dry. Amen.