WATCHWORD:
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
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?” 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.” John 4:4-15
Meditation:
Expectations
What do we expect of God? Or, better question, what do we believe He expects of us? Oh, sure, we know what Micah says about acting justly and loving mercy, and we can figure out what they mean, day by day. But, then there is that “walking humbly with God” that I am not sure about its meaning.
I was a PK, Preachers Kid, and grew up in the church. I thought I knew all about being a Christian, which meant being a good person, and being nice to others. Right? But then something happened – I really met Jesus and accepted Him as my Lord and Savior. An unexpected alteration in life-style, in priorities, in attitude, a lesson in learning to walk by faith, learning to walk humbly with God. A lesson, incidentally, that our Lord gives us a refresher course daily.
I think about the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well, when He talks to her about living water. She doesn’t understand what He means, because she is defining it in practical, everyday terms. She responds by saying you have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep. Just when you think you know what living water means, Jesus reshapes it in our own practical terms and right away it seems to go far beyond our understanding. Learning to walk by faith, daily.
We think it’s easy to say “Trust in Jesus and follow His will” but we are not sure we are capable of doing that. We do not doubt our own abilities as we follow our own plan. It’s when we seek to follow God’s will that our doubts begin. Living Water begins with “What would you have me do, Lord? Or, perhaps it is “Help me, Jesus”. Maybe more frequently it is “Thank you, Lord.”
If in our relationship with the Lord, we seek to do his will but have an element of doubt, we need to confess openly that we have misgivings and that we have not believed in Your almighty power apart from my small and finite understanding of what you were asking. Help me to know that my help comes from You, and the way of my life comes from trusting the Lord and loving Him. It’s not complicated, it’s faith. Amen.
Hear Ye, Hear Ye!
Middle of Nowhere, Stan Escott’s faith-based novel will be available through the usual bookstore outlets, as of Tomorrow, March 22 .
Here is a taste: It was a magical place that, at first, children Tom and Sarah thought only existed in their daydreams. Now grown up, the two embark on a honeymoon adventure over Wyoming back roads, through fields of wild flowers and stampedes of wild horses, seeking a place they knew existed, a place they called Middle of Nowhere. In this supernatural spiritual adventure in Grand Teton country, the two must learn to trust their faith as they discover the valley’s tragic, spiritual and magical history.
Monday’s Lenten Passage to Ponder:
John 20:17: “Don’t touch me,” he cautioned, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them that I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.”
Closing Prayer:
Lord, help me to have a world view that is big enough to include all that the resurrection means, for me, for the church, and for mankind everywhere, for all time. Thank you that the resurrection is not just a personal reality, but a cosmic reality. Amen.
