Patti Burris

John 4:1-26

Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. 4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 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. 10 Jesus answered her, “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.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

John 8:1-11

1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Psalm 139:7-12

7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Yes, the women in the above passages were living in sin, but from my experience, when women find themselves in the depths of sin, it is because they are trying to heal themselves from pain and heartache. They are trying to self-medicate. They turn to alcohol/drugs, men, and other sinful ways of life. But the pain of the past does not just go away, instead guilt, shame, and self-hatred result.

I believe the Woman at the well and the adulterous woman had suffered pain and heartache in their pasts. No, the passages do not say this, but I feel their pain and I believe that something happened to them in their pasts to lead them to the life they were living when Jesus found them.

Our pain can lead to so many bad decisions that lead us to even more pain and hurt. The pain and hurt in my own life have led to an anxiety disorder, low self-esteem, a need to please everyone else, even sacrificing my own welfare to do so. I hate confrontation and have allowed others to control me because I have felt powerless and did not want a confrontation. I did not want to be hurt and the sting of hateful words can hurt deeply. The old saying of, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is so not true. Words can sting and they have the ability to stay with you a life-time. I have allowed my fear keep me from obeying God when I knew He was telling me to step out in faith. This is disobedience and sin.

Jesus found these two women at their lowest, but instead of condemning them, He confronted their sin in love. He was compassionate and offered them eternal life. He gave them HOPE! He loved them where they were and offered them a hope of something more. It is the same for us today. He loves us in our sin. Yes, He confronts us about our sinful natures, but he is merciful and gives us hope for a blessed future in Him. Jesus knows my heart and He knows your heart. He knows our past and the pain that has led us to where we are. He sees through our sin and sees our hearts. He loves us and His compassion is overflowing. My sister, allow Jesus to meet you where you are and give you that living water that only comes from Him. He can and will heal you, right now, right where you are. Open your heart and allow Him to pour out His love and compassion. Your past and present does not have to dictate your future. Only you can decide what your future holds. If you allow God into your life and live out His will for you.

You may be a woman scorned right now, but that does not mean you always have to be. With Jesus in your life, together you can write a new story: a story of courage, strength, love, compassion and hope! Let the love of Jesus heal your wounded heart. Step out in faith!