A Different Kind of Water

Dannah Gresh: We are all trying to satisfy a deep down thirst. We are about to hear a classic series from Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. She’ll help us get to know a character from the Bible.

Sometimes this character is known as the Samaritan woman or the woman at the well. I think you’ll identify with the longing she has to fulfill her deep-down needs.

And mixed in with Nancy’s teaching, we’ll also hear from other women talking about ways they tried to satisfy their thirst.

Andrea Griffith: I just kept thinking that somehow this emptiness on the inside of me.

Valerie: I was searching, but I thought I needed somebody in my life.

Nancy Stafford: I got a show called St. Elsewhere. I did that for three seasons. Then I guest-starred on every other show in the mid-eighties: I still didn’t feel good about myself. 

Betsy Gomez: So I had to leave my house, and I had to go to my job. When I did that, I thought that was okay because I needed to maintain my job.

Erin Davis: Food absolutely controlled me all day, every day.

Dannah: These women have all discovered true satisfaction in Christ. And one woman can’t help singing about it!

Come see a man who knows all about me,
Who knows what I've done and the love that I need.
Come see a man . . .

Dannah: This is the Revive Our Hearts podcast with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author of The Quiet Place, for May 22, 2023. I’m Dannah Gresh.

Here’s Nancy in the series, “Satisfying Our Thirst.”

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Over the next couple of weeks we want to look at what I think is one of the most profound and powerful principles in all of God's Word. In my own life I have found this truth to be incredibly liberating, as have many other women that I've shared it with over the years. We're going to look at this truth through the eyes of a woman in the Gospel of John.

If you have your Bible, I'm going to ask you to turn to John chapter 4. For some of you, this is a very familiar story. You may have heard her story a hundred times or more. And for some of you, this may be the first time that you've heard the story of the Samaritan woman, the woman at the well. We're going to look at her life in some detail. And as we do, you may realize that the circumstances of her life are either similar to your own—some of you may find yourself saying, "I'm that woman." I've had women come up to me after I've taught this series and say, "That woman is me. That's the story of my life." Or you may look at her story and say, "My life is very different from that woman. My past, my story is very different from hers." But I think if you could cut all of us open and look way down inside, you'd find that all of us have a heart that looks a lot like the heart of this woman.

I'm going to begin reading in John, chapter 4, verse 4. The story tells us that Jesus had to go through Samaria. Now, we're not reading the first paragraph of the story, but in that paragraph we're told that Jesus was going from the southern part of Israel up to the northern part of Israel. And in-between there was this region of Samaria. Typically, Jews would do anything they could to avoid going through Samaria. They'd go around it because, as we'll see, there was centuries-long animosity and hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans.

So when Scripture tells us that Jesus had to go through Samaria, it's not that geographically He had to go through Samaria. It's that He had to go through Samaria because He knew that God had an appointment waiting for Him there. That part of God's purpose and plan for Him was to encounter this woman. That says to me that God will go to any lengths that He needs to in order to connect with our lives.

Just to meet one woman there. We don't even know her name, and yet Jesus had to go to the place where she was. I don't know where you are in your walk today, I don't know where you are in your relationship with God. You may be very far from Him or you may be near to Him. But Jesus knows what it's going to take to get right into the innermost part of your life, and He will do whatever He has to do to get to you, as He did to get to this woman.

So, verse 5 tells us that,

He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. And Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well. (vv. 5–6) 

Do we have anybody here who's tired this morning? Some of you may have had a long day yesterday, or a long morning already. Aren't you glad that Jesus understands what it's like to be tired? Some of you are moms with lots of children. Some of you are homeschooling your children. Some of you are caring for elderly parents, and you find yourselves at times just exhausted. I'm so glad that we have a Savior who came to this earth and went through those human experiences of having demands placed upon Him and knowing what it was to be physically tired.

Well, we're going to see that God ministered the grace that Jesus needed in His tired condition to meet yet one more person, hear one more story, meet one more demand on His schedule. And I am so encouraged as I read this story to know that God is able to give me the grace that I need this day, tired as I may be. He's able to give the grace to meet that one more demand that takes me so far out of my comfort zone.

When I come to that point where I feel like I just can't talk to one more person, can't handle one more responsibility, there is grace that God gives to face that situation, just as Jesus was given grace from His heavenly Father to face this woman, even though He was tired from the journey.

Now the end of verse 6 tells us that it was about the sixth hour. Which according to the time at that day would have been twelve noon. This would be midday. It's siesta time. Jesus is tired and He sits down. We know from later in the passage that Jesus is left alone at the well because His disciples go into the town to find something to eat. It's lunch time. And verse 7 tells us that when,

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?"

Jesus strikes up a conversation with this woman. Now, in today's culture that would not be considered so extraordinary. But as we're going to see, this woman had several strikes against her, and it's astounding given the culture of that day in that woman's mind that Jesus would speak to her.

He starts by just asking her, "May I have something to drink?" Now, as this story unfolds, we're going to see that everything Jesus says to this woman is designed to do one of two things. First He wants to bring her to the place where she acknowledges her real need. She came to the well knowing that she has a need, she needs water. That's why she comes to the well in the first place.

So, she's aware of one of the needs in her life; but Jesus wants her to see that she has needs that are far deeper, far more significant than just that physical need for water. Jesus has brought us to this place today. We're aware that we have some needs in our lives and our homes and our relationships, but it's possible that we've not ever really seen the true inner needs of our hearts.

As Jesus converses with this woman, He wants to help her see what her real need is. She's got a problem that she's not aware of, and He's going to help her see that problem. He's going to point out her real situation. But then Jesus is going to do something else for this woman. He's not just going to leave her seeing her need. He also wants her to see that there's a provision for her need, and that He is God's provision for her need. So God has brought us to this place today to see that we have a need, but also so we can see that Jesus Christ is God's solution for our need.

Jesus says to her, "Will you give me something to drink?" His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.

The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman, how can you ask me for a drink? For Jews do not associate with Samaritans." (v. 9)

Now, that was an understatement. If you know something of the day in which Jesus lived, you know as we've already said, that Jews and Samaritans had no dealings with each other. I mean they would do anything to avoid contact with each other. And this wasn't just a little skirmish between the Jews and the Samaritans, this had gone on for centuries. They despised each other. They didn't trust each other. There was deep racial hatred between the two.

Now, not only was she a Samaritan, that was obvious; but the other thing that was obvious was that she was a woman. Today we think of that as not such a big deal, that a man would have a conversation with a woman. But you have to understand that in those days, women were considered greatly inferior to men, really just a piece of property. They had no special rights as we talk about women having today. There was no such thing as equal rights between men and women in that culture. In fact, I'm told that good Jewsh men, when they woke up in the morning would pray a prayer something like this, "Oh, God, I thank You that I am not a Gentile, that I am not a slave, and that I am not a woman."

And here is a Samaritan woman, amazed that Jesus, this Jewish man, would strike up a conversation with her. Now, it's obvious that she's a Samaritan, it's obvious that she's a woman, but this woman knows something about herself that she doesn't know that Jesus knows. And maybe she's also thinking, If He knew this about me, He certainly would not strike up this conversation if He knew my story. If He knew about my past. If He knew I was a woman of ill repute. I'm a woman with a bad reputation. Certainly, He would not want to talk to me.

The amazing thing is that Jesus did know. This woman is going to find out that He knows more than she can fathom that He knows. He not only knows that she's a Samaritan, not only knows, obviously, that she's a woman. But Jesus knows all about her story. He knows her past, He knows the shame, He knows the guilt, He knows the failure. And He still says to her, "Will you give me a drink? I want to have a relationship with you."

Now He's bringing up the subject of water, and from there He's going to draw her into a spiritual conversation about the spiritual needs of her life. You see, Jesus knew that in that day in the very arid desert region that you had to have water to survive, so He brings up a subject of something that's common, something that's considered a basic, essential need in life. And that's how He gets into this conversation, because He knows that this woman has a need for a spiritual kind of water that she needs even more desperately than she needs physical water in that desert region.

The woman is amazed that Jesus would speak with her. And then He responds and says to her in verse 10,

"If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."

Now over the next few days, we're going to talk about what this living water is, why we need it, and how can we get it. But just notice here that Jesus says this living water is a gift. It's not something you earn. It's not something you work for. It's not something you perform for, it's a gift. It's a gift that comes from God. This living water has no source other than God.

Your husband can't give it to you. Your children can't give it to you. Your parents can't give it to you. Your pastor can't give it to you. Only God can give you this gift. Jesus says the gift of God is a person. "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is asking you for a drink." You see, Jesus is going to lead this woman to see that He is the gift; He is the living water. So He says, "If you knew who it is that you're talking to, you would've asked Him, and He would have given you living water."

Dannah: Nancy’s not done. She’s about to take us back to John 4 and the conversation Jesus had with a woman at a well. 

I just want to remind you that the reason you’re hearing messages like this one is because of the support of listeners like you. 

Nancy: That’s right, Dannah. Everything—from these teachings to conferences to books and other resources—it’s all made possible because of the Lord working through people who believe in our mission. When you make a donation to Revive Our Hearts, you’re investing in the lives of women all over the world. For example, we recently received this note from a woman in Singapore:

Revive Our Hearts has empowered my life so much. As I go through a heartbreak, the series, "Lies Young Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free" impacts me so deeply. Thank you for the resources that support me in Singapore from across the entire globe.

If you’ve ever given to this ministry, this woman’s “thank-you note” is for you too. Your support makes a difference as we reach women with the truth of the gospel.

May is an important month for us at Revive Our Hearts because it is when our fiscal year comes to an end ,and we are preparing for the next year of ministry. We’re asking the Lord to provide $828,000. This amount will help us continue producing life-transforming teaching through our podcasts, broadcasts, and other resources. Would you consider partnering with us at this significant time? Your gift means so much and will be multiplied in the lives of many other women in the days ahead.

Dannah: As a way to thanking you for your gift of any amount this month, we’d like to send you the first volume of (Un)remarkable: Ten Ordinary Women Who Impacted Their World for Christ. Plus, you’ll also be able to access an advance digital copy of the second volume. 

Visit ReviveOurHearts.com to make your donation and request your resources, or call us at 1-800-569-5959. 

Now, here’s Nancy to continue in John chapter 4 with the woman at a well. 

Nancy: Now, Jesus introduces this concept of a different kind of water. He's asked her for water to drink—that's physical water, natural water from that well—and now He's saying, "I have a kind of water I want to give you. If you'll ask me for it, I'll give it to you as a gift. It's living water."

Now, as the story unfolds here, we're going to see that this woman is kind of confused because she doesn't understand immediately the difference between this physical water at the well and the living water that Jesus is offering to her. So she says in verse 11,

"Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do you get that living water?"

She's thinking about this literal, physical water. She's thinking, The well is deep, and You're a stranger here. You brought nothing with You. How can You get water out of this well? Jesus has made her a promise, and at this point she's thinking in very literal terms. She's looking at the situation and she's saying, "This seems impossible, that He could get water for me out of this well."

I wonder how many times God makes a promise to us. He says, "I want to offer you peace of heart. I want to offer you comfort." And we look around at our circumstances, at our situation and to us it seems impossible. How can God bring peace out of the circumstances I'm in right now? How can He do that? How can God put together the messed-up pieces of my life and make something whole and beautiful out of it? So do you ever find yourself looking to God and saying or thinking, I don't think You can do this, I don't think You really can bring peace or comfort to my situation?

Then Jesus comes back and tells us, "The water that I'm going to give to you doesn't come from the well. It doesn't come from you or your circumstances. You see, the gift I'm wanting to give you comes from above." Jesus is saying to us, "There's a supernatural source of supply, and I know how to get this living water. It's not going to come from your natural circumstances, it's not going to come from within you; yes, it is impossible to get living water out of your circumstances." But Jesus is saying, "I've got a connection to my heavenly Father who will give you a source of supply of living water that you know nothing about."

The woman is going to begin to see the comparison between what the world has to offer, what she can get through her natural circumstances and what Christ is offering with this living water. She says,

"Where then can you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" (vv. 11–12)

She's still thinking very literally (by the way, the One she was talking to is greater than Jacob). She had that right, but she didn't know how right she was. Jesus' answer is in verse 13; notice now the comparison between the two kinds of water

"Everyone who drinks of this water [i.e. at this well] will thirst again."

The proof of that was here was the woman back at the well thirsty again needing more water; that was obvious.

"But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. [It will satisfy him forever.] But the water that I shall give him, [i.e. living water] will become in him a fountain of water, springing up [literally leaping up] into everlasting life." (v. 14)

Now what's the comparison here between the two different kinds of water?

Well ,Jesus is saying the water that the world offers you, this natural water, will give you temporary relief, but you'll have to keep coming back for more because it won't last. And so the things that this world offers to satisfy the thirst of our hearts are only temporary. Yes, they satisfy for a moment, but we have to keep going back to get more. Jesus is saying, "I'm giving you a kind of water that will give you permanent release, permanent blessing and joy." The water of the world, the things the world offers, they don't last. But Jesus says, "If you drink this water you will never thirst again. You will have eternal life."

The water at that well, the water the world offers us is natural, and it's a picture of the natural solutions that we look to for solving our problems. But Jesus says that there's a source of supernatural grace to meet you in your time of need. It's a spring of water; not just to meet your external needs, your physical needs, that's what the world will give to you. The world has plenty of offers to meet our temporary needs, our external needs, our physical needs. But Jesus is saying that this living water will meet the internal needs of your heart. "It's a water," He says, "that I give to you." Three times in this passage He says, "The Father gives this, I give this." We have to receive it from Christ. There is no other source.

Now, this woman was physically thirsty, that's why she came to the well in the first place. But Jesus wants this woman to see that she has a deeper thirst—that her greatest need is not her physical thirst, that it's a deeper level of thirst. As we go into this passage over the next few days, we're going to see that this woman was emotionally thirsty. She had looked to the world to provide solutions, to provide water to quench her emotional thirst. But the world's solutions had not lasted. We're going to see that she was also spiritually thirsty. There was a spiritual thirst deep within her that nothing in this world, not even religion, had been able to satisfy.

Now, the woman doesn't understand all this yet; she just knows that here's an incredible offer. She's thinking, Wow, I wouldn't have to come to this well again; I wouldn't have to keep doing all this hard work. We're going to see that this woman was a woman who was socially rejected. "I won't have to come out in this public place again if I get this living water."

So it's no surprise when she says in verse 15 to Jesus:

"Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."

She's intrigued, she's hooked and Jesus has got her attention. And she says, "I want it!" Now, wouldn't you think that Jesus' very next statement, (He's told this woman, "You ought to ask, I have this incredible water to give you." And now she says, "I want it.") wouldn't you think that His next statement would be, "Here it is, you can have it." But you notice, Jesus doesn't give her the water right away. I think that's because she wasn't ready to receive it yet. She had to go a little further in her relationship with Him and in her understanding of herself before she would be ready to receive that water.

And so we see in verse 16 that Jesus probes further. Rather than saying, "Here's the water." He says to her: "Go, call your husband, and come back." Now, if you know something about this woman's story—and we'll go further into this tomorrow—Jesus has gone to meddling with one of the most painful parts of this woman's life.

And He's saying, "Before you can have this water, we need to talk about something." Jesus is wanting to get to the truth, and He's wanting this woman to get to the truth of her life. We see here a woman who wanted this living water so that she could get rid of her problems, but Jesus wanted this woman to face her problems. And He knew that one of her problems centered around this matter of marriage. It really wasn't her past marriages that were her true problem, but they were going to help her get to the heart of what was her true problem.

You see, Jesus wanted her to not run from her problems, not avoid them but to run head-on into those problems, to face the truth about her life, and to allow her problems to cause her to become a true worshiper of God.

He wasn't just wanting to satisfy her. God is looking for worshipers; He's looking for people who say, "No matter what the needs in my life, no matter how hungry, no matter how thirsty I am, I worship You, God, as my only source of life and supply." This was an issue of worship; it was an issue of surrender. She was going to have to meet God, if she wanted this living water, she was going to have to come in truth.

And if you and I are ever going to have living water, the water that truly and lastingly and deeply satisfies, we're going to have to be willing to let Him come into every single part of our lives—not only the part that everyone else can see and that we're open to talk with others about but the parts of our lives that are hidden and secret.

The parts of our past that we're ashamed of, that we don't want anybody to know about, Jesus is saying, "You want living water? Let's bring your life out into the open. Let's take a look at the truth about where you've been and what you've done and who you are." He says, "If you want living water, that's a step we're going to have to take."

Father, it frightens us to think of having to really come out all the way into the open and to be exposed before You, to let You see us and to see ourselves as we really are. But we know that if we're ever going to have that living water, we're going to have to come to You in truth. And that You want to use our past problems and failures and needs to make us true worshipers of You, to bring us to a point of surrender to You in spirit and in truth.

So in the days ahead, Lord, as we look into the life of this woman and how she had a life-changing encounter with You, I believe that You want to have the same life-changing encounter with many of us. And we'd be willing to come to You in spirit and in truth, that we may receive that living water, the gift of God. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Dannah: Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth has been helping us go deep. Jesus talked with a woman about the true condition of her heart. And Nancy has been helping us evaluate the true condition of our hearts. She’ll keep doing that in this series, “Satisfying Our Thirst.”

Have you ever felt weighed down, trapped, or burdened by guilt? Tomorrow, find out how you can live guilt-free, as Nancy continues this series. I hope you’ll be back for this hope-filled episode on Revive Our Hearts. 

Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth is helping you experience freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.  

All Scripture is taken from NIV84.

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