"A Future"

"Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink." John 4:5,6

 

Yesterday I heard three different ministers bring up the woman at the well in their sermons. Of course they each said something different about her in connection with the topic of their sermon. I began to ponder this woman and I want to share something about her that stood out to me. 

 

She went to the well at the sixth hour-- 12:00 noon. There was a reason why she didn't go during the earlier hours which would have been a cooler time during the day. Twelve noon is the hottest time to go and do the task of getting water from a well, or any physical activity. But she did this because she had a "past" and a reputation because of it. She had had five husbands and was then living with a man who was not her husband. Her past kept her from going when it was cooler. It kept her away from others. It caused her to have to wait and arrange her schedule in such a way where she would be alone while drawing water. It kept her tied down in the present. Her past kept her in bondage. And it would have continued to keep her in bondage had she not had an encounter with Jesus on that particular day. After her encounter with Jesus she was no longer bound to her past. We read where she left the well and went to her city, witnessed to the people and brought them to Jesus.

 

Without an encounter with Jesus our past will not only keep us in bondage in the present but it will keep us from having a future. Is your past keeping you bound? Most of us love the verse, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11- NIV) When we think about this verse, we usually think about the "plans" as being some work God has for us to do-- some ministry, some vocation, some riches that will make us prosperous. But His plans for you also include freedom from the bondage of your past. His plan is that you have a future- a productive one. His plan is not for you to be tied down to past mistakes and failures. 

 

The life this woman was living was not His plan for her-- going from one relationship to another, having to avoid people, having a bad reputation, stuck in her past. He wanted to give her a hope and a future-- one of freedom, joy, security, peace, productivity. That is the same plan He has for you. His plan is not for you to live your life in the past, or in shame, or in bondage. He wants to set you free like He did her and give you a future.

 

Have a great day. Jesus wants to deliver us from the past and give us a future. 

 

For further reading:

John 4 

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell

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