I love how Spirit will bring familiar passages to our remembrance to show us deeper truths. Recently, the story of the Woman at the Well (John 4) came to mind. I began to ponder these passages, asking Spirit to reveal something brand new to me.
“A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.”
“Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says 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 have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
“Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” John 4:8-15
This is what I felt Spirit spoke:
We are all searching for the same thing… life. The ego mind (natural man) will take us in many directions to pursue what we determine is important, but the truth is, in our pursuits we will always be left wanting. We will thirst again! We will thirst for more – more power, more money, more toys, more recognition, more relationships, more, more, more.
The ego’s thirst is never quenched, because it believes there is something lacking. And, when we look deeper, the greater issue is the belief we are separated from the Source (God).
In this journey we’re taken on by the ego, time and time again, we are led to what we think is “living water” – life and the fulfillment of our pursuits. However, this well is nothing more than a mirage; and we are handed a bucket and told to drink the sand.
When we lay down our quest to find life and fulfillment in the mirage and realize “living water” is ours already, we can be (and are) awakened to reality.
Jesus said we need only ask and living water would be given. The woman asked how can you draw from the well when you have nothing to draw with?
Jesus pointed us to what was/is already within. We need only ask of the Source to be shown the answers already within us. We need only inquire to see past the mirage. We need only drink of forgiveness to know Peace. We need only receive of Truth to know Love’s fulfillment within.
I’m reminded of an old Petra song, released in 1982, called Road to Zion. The chorus goes like this:
There is a road inside of you
Inside of me there is one too
No stumbling pilgrim in the dark
The road to Zion’s in your heart
The road to Zion’s in your heart
My prayer – that we would see beyond the mirage and be awakened to who we truly are. That we would no longer drink the sand, but taste and see that God is always and only good. That our highest and only pursuit would be the Peace of God; His Living Water – that never runs dry and is complete.