The Samaritan Woman at the Well” story in John 4 is one of my favorite stories of all time. It’s a story of true redemption, life change, and the release of shame and burden that made her become free to change a whole town that looked down on her. Never has this story meant so much to me and been so relevant than until I’ve come here to Lira, Uganda.
On Sunday afternoon I found out at the last second I was to speak at a fellowship out in a park area near the town center of Lira, where many people would gather. Reverend Milton, our contact told me that they would be mostly church members but there would be also nonbelievers there too; and I only arrived about fifteen minutes before speaking and just found out. There I was asking God for complete help and wisdom as I began to get nervous. I don’t usually get nervous when doing anything in public, but this time I did feel it and I told my teammate Luann who prayed for me. There the Lord told me to turn to John 4 and speak on this story. So in front of the huge crowd all encircled around us, and if I had to guess it would be close to a thousand, I was completely relying on only what God can do. This should be the case every time we serve God, we become completely dependent on him, whether planned or not.
Here’s a woman who went to the water well everyday, and it says she went in the hot part of the day, when most people go in the morning when you can talk and the sun isn’t so high. But she went during the noon time, and I would have to guess since she had a crazy past and a life that she may not have been proud of she went during that time to be alone and not have eyes of discontempt on her.
Here in Northen Uganda I’ve seen many people carry heavy water jugs to water wells and as I asked them in the crowd to raise their hand, almost everyone does and can relate to her. But in this story these water jugs were more than just a physical thing, but a symbol of the daily burden and shame she carried. As as the message was spoken to the crowd about how she met a man who loved her despite what she had done; she was not hopeless. He told her about the gift of God, living water that never ends, and for someone who carries heavy water every day long distances or tries to fill their spiritual thirst with things of the world, this would be an incredible gift.
But Jesus then made a strange turn and pointed out her husband issue. When God wants us to come to him, He doesn’t want just our best and we can’t do our best before Him. He wants us to come to him with everything; joys, shame, burdens, trials, struggles, brokenness. Only at His feet is there true freedom. If you want to experience the true love and freedom in Christ, then I have to be willing to bring Him my crap. We all have it and though we may feel shamed by it, thank God we don’t have to let it define us.
And soon she talked about worship, only to hear Jesus say that real worship is from the heart. That no matter how many prayers you pray, how many times you kneel, no matter how many Christian CD’s or songs you sing; if it’s not in the Spirit and from the heart then it doesn’t matter. For God says, “they honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.” And that Jesus says He is THE TRUTH therefore we cannot worship God without the Son making us new. Don’t come to worship without experiencing God, don’t leave unchanged instead of unchained.
But the most interesting part of the story is what John said in verse 28, “leaving her water jars behind.” She became free and the shame, guilt, and heavy burdens she had was laid at the feet of Jesus. And to these people I spoke too, a country torn by war, spiritual warfare, sorcery, and other things that we deal with, we too can lay it at Jesus. How many times do we believe that God has forgiven us but we still don’t forgive ourselves and carry shame in our life, unforgiveness, and many other things. And to this crowd, freedom was proclaim to those who already believe to stop carrying it, and to the lost to stop trying to save themselves.
And God was there, speaking when I couldn’t, so much that I cried at the end about the incredible love of God who cared that I should run free and that my identity is only in Him, not my failures and this world can’t define me. That He pursued me, and therefore my heart is free.
For that afternoon, a huge crowd of people came up after and got on their knees to lay their water jugs down, and others came to find Christ for the first time that day; including Mary who was sixty-three years old. After they prayed, I said, “Don’t pick it up! Don’t pick it up! The enemy will try to bring it back and give you lies, but God’s grace is greater and will sustain you. Believe in the Truth!” How many times do we pick up things that Jesus will take for us.
What is your water jug? What is your burden? If you have any then like her, there’s no shame in Jesus and you should run free. He loves you and He’s always with you whether at a last second preaching need or when you’re on your wits end.
(a stove in Uganda)
