“He left Judea and went again to Galilee. He had to travel through Samaria, so He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property that Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, worn out from His journey, sat down at the well. It was about six in the evening. A woman of Samaria came to draw water.”
John 4:3-7a HCSB
One year my family took a vacation to Tennessee to visit friends. On the way home my husband and I decided to take a big detour to Hot Springs, Arkansas to take our kids to our family favorite restaurant called Taco Mama. As we look back, this side trip was part of what made the vacation so memorable.
Jesus had been in Aenon of Judea, along the Jordan River midway between the northern tip of the Dead Sea and the southern edge of the Sea of Galilee. To go to Samaria, Jesus’s trip doubled in distance and would have added at least two days to the journey. This means Jesus was compelled to INTENTIONALLY go to Samaria to meet this woman of ill repute at Jacob’s Well. The well would have been a central congregating spot where locals and travelers alike went for refreshment and fellowship. There would have been community gatherings and meetings there, as well.
This Samaritan woman went to the well at a time of day when no one would typically be there because she was looked down upon for her multiple marriages and affairs. But Jesus saw her; he knew her story and still went to her. Because He was intentional and sacrificed His time, she came to faith in Him and then led her whole family to Christ!
Where is God telling you to be intentional to go out of your way, out of your comfort zone to tell others your story to draw them to Him? Are you willing to leave your safe space to do kingdom work?🚦
Stoplight Devotionals 