Put Down the Water Pot

You Were Made for Living Water

Can I be honest with you? I didn’t pray for a long time. I didn’t read my Bible for a long time. I put God on mute. But in His infinite grace and love, He reached down and changed my heart.

I cried out; He answered. I call it my kitchen mat encounter.

My prayer sounded something like this:

“God, I can’t do it anymore. I don’t even know what I need, but I know I need you to help me. So, help me…please.”

I was weary from life’s daily demands. But beyond that, I had serious doubts about God’s goodness. I was at the end of myself that day my knees hit the kitchen mat. Tears fell; realization hit. I may have moved physically, but I never moved on spiritually. I was stuck in the past—stuck in my disappointment with the Divine. I couldn’t breathe anymore. I couldn’t see past my despair. And I didn’t want anyone to see me either.

But He saw me. He always sees us. The God who sees us is the God who frees us.

I imagine my kitchen mat encounter much like the scene in John 4 when Jesus meets the woman at the well. The beloved passage of scripture tells the story of a Samaritan woman who comes to the well in the middle of the day. Jesus asks her for a drink. “When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (John 4:7)

Her response is one I often find myself asking God— “How?” she replies in verse 9, “How can you ask me for a drink?” Jesus goes on to answer, “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.”

Jesus reveals himself, proving He is the Messiah because he told her everything she ever did. The woman goes on to spread the news of the Messiah and many Samaritans are drawn to believe because of her testimony. 

Maybe you’ve read this story a hundred times, but I must draw your attention to something.

In verse 28, when the woman leaves the well to go and tell others her story, scripture says, “Then, leaving her water pot, the woman went back to the town…”

Did you see it? “Then leaving her water pot…”  After she talked to Jesus, she left her water pot at the well. We don’t know what happened to that pot. Maybe she came back for it later. But we do know that after her encounter, she was set free.

So I have to ask, are you carrying around a spiritual water pot? Are you waiting until you’re practically parched to refill? Are you tired from the tedious task of filling up your water pot?

A few years ago I purchased a counter top reverse osmosis water filter. Honestly it’s too small for our family. It never fails that when I’m most thirsty, there is not a drop of water left to drink. And then I have to start the filtration process all over again. It’s a tedious little task, especially since a piece of the water tank is broken. Time to save up for a whole house filtration system! But, I digress.

The woman at the well desperately wanted that living water Jesus offered her. She liked the idea of exchanging her old water system for a more convenient set up. “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” (John 4:15) 

Are you tired from filling your water pot just a little each day? What would it be like to have the river of living water spring up from within you?

I don’t know your current circumstances, but God does. He sees which well you visit each day. He knows how many pots you carry around. He sees where you are at this very moment, even if you don’t want to be seen.

While it’s true that nothing can separate us from God’s love, sometimes we distance ourselves from Him. Sometimes we put Him on mute. And sometimes we get stuck asking how it’s going to work out instead of focusing on Who we’re talking to.

Go ahead, ask God “Why?” but don’t get stuck there. Keep your focus on the Who you’re talking to. Keep talking to Jesus. Our God is a relational and conversational God. I love the conversation between the woman and Jesus. Because in their conversation, the mystery of the Messiah is revealed. And that revelation brought freedom, forgiveness, and a testimony that in turn led others to freedom.

Maybe shame sits deep inside your heart. Maybe you’ve been living in the land of low expectations because you can’t shake disappointment or disillusionment. Maybe you don’t feel like yourself in this hard season. And maybe, like Audra in the kitchen and the woman at the well, you don’t want anyone to see you. If that’s you, then it’s time to allow God’s all-sufficient grace to flood every secret place.

It’s time to leave your water pot at the well. It’s time to open your heart and allow the living water to flow freely to dry places. He longs to meet with you in the middle of your mess. Yes, the God who sees you is the God who frees you.

And you know what happens after an encounter with Jesus? Freedom. Just like the Samaritan woman, you leave your old water pot behind because you’ve finally found the source of living water. I hope you spend time talking to God today. I hope you’ll be honest with Him about your struggles. I hope you experience the freedom that only Jesus can give. And I pray that you would tuck this truth deep down in your heart:

Pots cannot contain the rivers of living water you were made for.

With Love,

Audra

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:37-38 ESV