Journey to the Cross

Pause

Surprise. Even shock. These can be part of the experience when knowledge is suddenly discovered.

But revelations are also the source of wider and deeper understanding, resulting in personal challenge that leads to change.

Watch for new insights that result from taking these next few moments to listen for what God might have you know.

Listen

The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

John 4:11–15

Think

Over time, the stares and taunts move through the ear and into the very center of her being. Amidst the bones and muscles, tissue and veins, words of hate take root. Words from others now swim in a stream of self-doubt, self-loathing, and self-focus. Hate drains and dehydrates, sending the body into panic, thirsting for relief, healing, and words of hope.

The Samaritan woman persistently came back to the well. Alone, she sought to quench her thirst and avoid the ridicule of her peers over a life they deemed worthless. Their words fueled her thirst—a thirst the well could never fully quench. In this state of dehydration, Jesus meets her in her desperation and isolation.

Jesus promises living water that quenches the greatest thirsts within us for love, acceptance, and peace. God is revealed to us through Jesus’ open arms and words of comfort.

Carol Harston

Pray

God who meets me in the darkest moments, thank you for the living water that promises me that I never have to return to the darkness alone. May your presence grant me power and peace as I pass through green pastures and dark valleys. Amen.

Go

Go now, willing to be set free
By words that bring new life,
By grace that brings new light.

Prepare yourself for knowledge that brings peace
Which knows no limits.

God is giving you reasons to be hopeful
And a new song to sing.