Sitting Thus by the Well

and Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. (John 4:6)

I am often fascinated by little words and phrases that are commonly overlooked that contain surprising and sometimes significant items of great interest in the Bible. I suppose I could be accused of trying to read in more than what is there, but that is not my intention at all. However, I have noticed that a great deal of truth has been buried either in the way translations render a text or simply the common and superficial way in which most of us tend to read the Word.

When I read over this passage again this morning listening for God to talk to me through the Word in whatever way He chose, I saw this little word thus that seemed to be a bit odd compared to the way most of us would usually express ourselves. Unless I was physically showing someone how one sat while telling the story I wouldn't tend to use this word in the sentence this way. So I began to wonder what might be going on here.

I started out by checking various translations to see how they approached this and found that many of them simply ignored it and didn't put it in. But the KJV and the NASB, which are generally recognized as being a little more faithful to the original manuscripts, both used this odd phrasing. So I decided to look at the original Greek words and see what they might have to offer.

What seems to be emerging is that John is apparently trying to make a specific point that he doesn't want us to miss. The original words support the idea that Jesus was not just in the proximity of the well but seemed to be intentionally placing Himself either right on the well or at least so close to it that He simply could not be missed by anyone who might do anything related to that well. Of course it becomes quite obvious that He would want to do this when the rest of the story is looked at. But it is interesting that at the beginning of the story this little word sets up the context for what is to come.

This reminds me that nothing in Jesus life was coincidental. And while that might be easy for us to believe it also follows that anyone who is filled with the Spirit of Jesus will likewise realize that nothing in their life is coincidental either. Every encounter with other human beings becomes part of the choreography of God for their life so that God can use them as a channel through which to speak His love and demonstrate His grace to that person. And even though we may not know ahead of time how these encounters are supposed to happen, God still arranges them and then entrusts us with these opportunities to choose to listen to His Spirit and follow its promptings as to what to do and say.

I have to admit that I have noticed a few times that an encounter with some person is obviously arranged by God but that I seem impotent in the moment as to how to minister to them effectively. I find myself crying out to God to give me words but I also find a different spirit inside of me blocking me from being able to express real love, compassion or reveal the true Spirit of Jesus toward them. Instead, most of what I find for motives inside of me are self-centered, infected with religious pride and sadly deficient in true love and humility. In those moments I am embarrassed and chagrined that I do not have the baptism of the Holy Spirit that I so need to be used by God to effectively represent Him in that situation. I may have been placed near the well close enough to see the woman coming but my potential interactions with the woman are not nearly as full of hope and life-producing as what Jesus demonstrated in His encounter with her.

I do not want to remain in this frustrating condition. My heart wants to be used by the Spirit to bring life to others, not just talk about it and expostulate on it. I want to be a channel of hope, of healing, a reliable pipe or flexible tubing through which God can pump His passionate love into the lives of those starving for love like I am. That is the place I want to live, the person I want to be, but I have to confess that right now I am not there yet.

But God is not through with me yet either. I am learning enough about His heart to know that He wants me to be a clear channel for Him far more intensely than I want to. In fact, any desire on my part for this is coming from His Spirit in the first place and I am just responding to His promptings. As I continue to seek His face, to experience His love and grace in my own life and to encounter healing myself, then the tubing of my own soul that is so clogged with pain and fear and lies from my own past can become unplugged and His grace and love and truth can begin to flow through me much more freely to others.

And as that power begins to flow through me to others it will continue to cleanse my own heart and soul as it increases its flow through me. It will continue to purify the walls of my tubing like scouring the walls of my arteries removing the plaque and cholesterol that threatens to starve my own heart from life-giving blood. The blood and grace of Jesus that ministers to others through my testimony must be the very same grace that is saving and restoring my own heart.

I am currently listening to some recorded sermons by Bill Liversidge which are along the same lines as what I have been talking about here. My heart is waking up even more as I hear incredible stories of miracles and changed lives through his ministry. People are waking up to the real truth about God and are responding to the call to be baptized by the Holy Spirit the way God intended us to be. This is not a call to emotionalism or ecstasy but a call to complete humility and submission, to be used by God in any way He desires. The fruit seen in the lives of those who are responding thus is sometimes startling but always inspiring. They are suddenly becoming involved in ministry to the hearts and lives of all sorts of people around them in ways far more effective than they ever imagined possible before. But the common thread through all of these stories is that it is the power of God working through people's lives, not plans that they have come up with and then asked God to bless and make successful.

Father, You know my heart far better than I do. You are in the process of showing me more and more of the obstacles that still prevent You from using me very effectively to channel Your blessings to others. I again give You permission to flush out my pipes, to cleanse me from all resistance, to soften my heart much more and to heal all the damage and weakness inside of my soul so that You can use me much more efficiently and effectively.

Father, most of all I want to learn how to receive Your love as a real healing and cleansing element deep into the darkness and fears that still permeate my own heart. You told me this morning that one of the most effective ways to receive love is to express gratitude for it even when I don't feel like it. That is an act of faith that takes hold of the unseen and unfelt and turns it into reality that can be seen and felt. Thank-you for that reminder and keep working in my life without giving up. I know You never give up as long as there is any hope of response and I praise You for that because that is just what You are like.

I choose to trust my complete life to You today. I ask for Your protection, to surround me with Your grace, to make me much more aware of Your passionate and unconditional love for me. Clean out my ears and give me Your eye salve so that I can see life from heaven's perspective. I trust you to do all of this because I ask it in the name and authority of Your Son who gave His life to give me this privilege.