Fountain
Sunday, March 8
JOHN 4:5-15
I can understand why the woman in today’s text may have been a bit confused. She was talking about physical water needed to quench her physical thirst. Jesus was talking about the spiritual water of the Holy Spirit that quenches the deepest thirst of human hearts. She may have felt a bit skeptical. But something about who Jesus was and what he said to her caused her to also experience wonder and hope—the hope of the God of all creation living within her! Jesus was suggesting, even promising, that this very thing was not only possible for all humans, but it was possible for her. All she had to do was take Jesus at his word, believe what he said, and trust that he would keep his promise.
When our days are painful, confusing, disappointing, or fruitless, it can be easy to lose sight of Jesus’s promise to fill us with the flowing fountain of the Holy Spirit. We can quickly forget that God is always living deep within us. All we need to do is remember Jesus’s words, believe that his promise is for us, and trust Jesus to keep his promise by enabling us to experience the reality of the Holy Spirit’s presence flowing within and through us each day.
Lord Jesus, help me to remember your promises when I forget. Amen.
Test
Monday, March 9
EXODUS 17:1-7
I can understand why the Israelites felt abandoned: God saved them from slavery in Egypt, but now they were facing what appeared to be inevitable death from thirst in the desert. I can’t blame them for wondering, “Where is God now?”
Moses viewed the people’s cry for water as testing God, and perhaps they were, but the people were being tested as well. They gladly rejoiced in God’s presence and power to save them when they were in bondage, but those glory days were gone and now they faced the day-to-day struggles of life on the road through a very large, hot, dry desert. Was their faith and trust in God strong enough to believe that they would also be provided for in the midst of their everyday needs? This was the test for the Israelites in the desert: “Can we also trust God to provide for our need for water today?”
Too often we look to God with faith and trust (or desperation) for those needs that we consider to be beyond us, but we quickly revert back to trusting in our own abilities when the big things are behind us. Our test each day is: “Where will I choose to invest my faith and trust today?” Will the way that I live my life today reflect that I trust God with my everyday needs and concerns, or will it reveal that I only trust God for the big things that I believe are beyond my own capabilities?
Holy Father, please forgive me for picking and choosing where I fully invest my faith and trust in you. Help me to remember that you alone are trustworthy with all of my daily life and needs. Thank you! Amen.
Longing
Tuesday, March 10
John 4:16-26
How confusing Jesus’s words must have sounded! The woman had grown up being taught what worship should look like. The ongoing debate between her people and the Jews had always been to ask, “Who’s right and who’s wrong?” But she is resolved in her belief that Messiah is coming, and she trusts that he will explain everything when he comes.
Jesus’s response brushes that debate aside and focuses directly on what really matters, asking, “Are you the kind of worshiper that the Father is longing for?” Location, tradition, style of worship—Jesus is saying that these don’t matter to God. Only the heart and the spirit matter. This is a paradigm shift!
We are all taught many things regarding what our worship and religion should look like, but how do these things compare with what God is longing for? If we resolve ourselves to ask and listen, the Holy Spirit will reveal these truths to us and guide us into true, sincere worship of the Father that comes from deep within our hearts and spirits.
Lord Jesus, thank you for explaining what is truly important in my relationship with you and our Father. Holy Spirit, please open my mind and heart to perceive and understand what God is longing for from me. Thank you! Amen.
Unimaginable
Wednesday, March 11
PSALM 36:5-10
How do you connect with the greatness and wonder of God? How do you sense God’s tremendous love and care for you? Perhaps your mind struggles to grasp that which is completely unimaginable. When my heart is settled and at peace, sometimes I can feel the immensity of God’s righteousness, wisdom, mercy and lovingkindness where it resides deep within me. When my mind and heart are distracted by the struggles of life, I may pray the words of this passage aloud—not so much to praise God, but to remind myself where I need to return my focus.
The unimaginable can easily be lost in the midst of the irritations and demands of each day. When my focus is lost in distractions, I know that I can reconnect with God in nature. I remember the wonder-filled experiences that I’ve had while standing atop a 14,000-foot tall mountain, on a deserted beach before the ocean, or at the base of a 1,000-year-old redwood tree. I revisit these experiences that rendered me speechless and grateful for all that God is and all that God does—for myself and for all of creation around me. In that moment, all of my distractions dissipate, and a sense of wonder and awe of God is restored to my soul.
How will you connect with the greatness and wonder of God today? How will you sense God’s tremendous love and care for you today?
Holy God, your greatness is beyond my ability to comprehend. Thank you for the glimpses of your greatness that you will share with me today. Amen.
Unexpected
Thursday, March 12
JOHN 4:27-30
The disciples were surprised to find Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman. Their stunned facial expressions may have contributed to the woman leaving the well and returning to her village, but they could not dampen the wonder she felt as a result of talking with Jesus. Perhaps she had lived a hard life, and Jesus’s words not only challenged her but gave her hope she had never experienced before. During their brief conversation, she appears to have received some of the “living water” that he had told her about! She was bubbling over with joyful excitement as she told everyone in town about her conversation with Jesus. She was humbly authentic about the fact that he knew all about her. Her hopeful anticipation that he could be the Messiah they had all been waiting for was contagious. Her story and her enthusiasm were so convincing that they all quickly followed her to the well so they could check out this man for themselves! Who would have expected such a brief conversation with a foreigner to have such a positive, life-changing impact upon every person in her village? All of this occurred because she met with Jesus while performing an ordinary activity of daily living.
Lord Jesus, please help me to be open and receptive to your unexpected presence in my ordinary life today. Help me to remember to intentionally meet with you throughout my day. Amen.
Food
Friday, March 13
John 4:31-38
The disciples have a tendency to look only at the outside, to see what they expect to see, while Jesus looks into the realities of the heart. Perhaps that is why the disciples appear to be puzzled by Jesus’s actions and words. They can’t understand why Jesus is satisfied when they expect him to be tired and hungry. They don’t understand yet that Jesus’s conversation with the woman at the well was as life-giving for Jesus as it was for her. Now people are streaming out of the village, rushing to meet Jesus for themselves. Jesus can see that the heart of each one is ready to enter into a deeper, more personal relationship with the Messiah they’ve been waiting for. This is the rich harvest that he encourages the disciples to see and participate in.
Like the disciples, we can have difficulty seeing the harvest that is right before our eyes. We look at the outside, and we see what we expect to see. We can totally miss the heart and soul realities of others, as well as our own. To follow in Jesus’s footsteps, I must take the time to consider what is my food, what is life-giving for me? Am I making myself available to whatever harvest is before me in my own heart, as well as in the hearts of others around me? How has God called me to care for myself and others in my life?
Holy Father, thank you for the calling that you have chosen especially for me. Holy Spirit, please work in and through this calling for my benefit and for the benefit of the world around me. Thank you! Amen.
Unlikely
Saturday, March 14
John 4:39-42
The woman at the well was an unlikely evangelist for Jesus, yet every member of the village was inspired to seek out Jesus because of her words about him. The villagers’ passionate desire to learn truth was demonstrated through their offer of hospitality. Jesus accepted their offer and stayed with them for two days. As a result of listening intently to what Jesus had to share with them directly, those who had been strongly influenced by the woman’s words were now convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, the one who would bring salvation and life to them, as well as to the Jews. The kingdom of God had come to stay because an unlikely person planted seeds and pointed the way to Jesus, who then brought the seeds and harvest to completion.
Whose voices are able to influence and convince me? Whom do I listen to and rely on for truth? How hospitable am I to what Jesus desires to share directly with me? How willing am I to share my intimate experiences of Jesus with others around me?
Lord Jesus, thank you for choosing to come and stay with an unlikely person like myself. Help me to practice enough bravery to share my experiences of you with others. Amen.
