Scripture Scribbles: March 23, 2025
the Gospel
John 4:5-42
Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar,
near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob’s well was there.
Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
Jesus said to her,
“Give me a drink.”
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to him,
“How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”
—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to her,
“If you knew the gift of God
and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘
you would have asked him
and he would have given you living water.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself
with his children and his flocks?”
Jesus answered and said to her,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her,
“Go call your husband and come back.”
The woman answered and said to him,
“I do not have a husband.”
Jesus answered her,
“You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’
For you have had five husbands,
and the one you have now is not your husband.
What you have said is true.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;
but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus said to her,
“Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand,
because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth.”
The woman said to him,
“I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ;
when he comes, he will tell us everything.”
Jesus said to her,
“I am he, the one speaking with you.”
At that moment his disciples returned,
and were amazed that he was talking with a woman,
but still no one said, “What are you looking for?”
or “Why are you talking with her?”
The woman left her water jar
and went into the town and said to the people,
“Come see a man who told me everything I have done.
Could he possibly be the Christ?”
They went out of the town and came to him.
Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.”
But he said to them,
“I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
So the disciples said to one another,
“Could someone have brought him something to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“My food is to do the will of the one who sent me
and to finish his work.
Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’?
I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.
The reaper is already receiving payment
and gathering crops for eternal life,
so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.
For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’
I sent you to reap what you have not worked for;
others have done the work,
and you are sharing the fruits of their work.”
Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him
because of the word of the woman who testified,
“He told me everything I have done.”
When the Samaritans came to him,
they invited him to stay with them;
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in him because of his word,
and they said to the woman,
“We no longer believe because of your word;
for we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”
the scribble
It’s okay to wrestle with God.
I am not sure where or how this lie originated in my heart, but I have found myself continually falling back into this trap in different ways throughout my spiritual journey and walk with the Lord.
It is okay to openly, honestly, have it out with God. Not only is it okay, it is good.
You can tell Him things don’t make sense. When things are hard, when you are confused, when you’re struggling with a Church teaching, or seeking the next step in a difficult situation—Tell God!
And don’t just tell Him, break open your heart to Him. Tell Him your deepest, most frustrating, dark, lonely, or selfish thoughts.
He is not afraid of your brokenness, friend.
See, when I am in a bind or a challenging circumstance, I often find myself shutting everything down. Turning people away, running from the conflict. Trying to button everything up back together. When I bring something to God, it is often like the disciples in the boat in the storm, an exasperated, panicked: “Lord, do you not care that we are perishing?”
But usually, after the storm has been calmed, I feel a little quiet nudge in my heart. Asking me, “Do you not trust me?”. It is subtle, and gentle, and I know it is the voice of the Holy Spirit.
He’s inviting me, in a time of difficulty or crisis or confusion, to not panic or question His goodness, asking to be rescued like He’s forgotten about me, but rather to trust Him openly. And if I truly did that, I would tell Him about my struggle. I would ask Him questions. I would invite an open dialogue. I wouldn’t shut people out or turn away and cover up the fig leaves, I would instead lean into the conflict with vulnerability and openness. Asking my good, good Father to share with me the hidden details of my predicament, to sit with me openly in my hurt.
Today we hear one of my all time favorite passes from Scripture: The Women at the Well. There are many, many reasons why this passage is so impactful for me, but today I hear the Holy Spirit whispering to me to pay attention to how she wrestles openly with Jesus.
She questions Him. She doubts Him, openly. She denies His intentions. She wonders about His identity, His authority, His ability to change the current situation, both in her life and in the world. And, most importantly, she tells Him! She leans in, vulnerably, to the relationship and conversation.
Why? I wonder. And I hear it: Because she trusts. Because she hopes. And hope does not disappoint.
And how does Christ respond? He delights in it. He delights in her. Through this vulnerability He is able to lead her to Truth. To true union with the One who came to save her, and eventually, by this grace she ends up leading more to Him.
We see this patten play out throughout the Scriptures, from the Old Testament through the New. Open your heart, with all of its doubts, struggles, challenges, and ugliness, to the Lord. He will work wonders through it.
Today, in whatever sort of season you find yourself, I invite you to let God in. Open up your complete and total heart to God, tell Him about the ugliest details of the situation or relationships you face, tell Him where it hurts and why it hurts and how unfair it is. Allow Him to see it all. Allow Him to sit with you in it.
And watch as He gently leads you into deeper trust, healing, and, ultimately, resolution.
Praying for you today, friend. Please pray for me too.
Today’s devotion was written by Rachel Smith
