HE MEETS US TOO

Based on The Gospel of John 4:4–42

There’s something about this story that always stops me in my tracks.

A woman. Alone. Carrying shame. Going to the well in the middle of the day to avoid the stares, the whispers, the judgment.

And then Jesus shows up.

That line—“He had to go through Samaria” —always lingers in my mind. It reveals the heart of Jesus. He had to go, not out of obligation, but because love always moves toward the hurting. He intentionally crossed barriers and broke customs because there was someone waiting – someone weary, wounded, and thirsty for more than what a well could offer. Someone who didn’t even realise how deeply she needed Him… until He showed up.

And that someone reminds me of… me.

I read this story and I see myself. How many times have I come to Jesus carrying the weight of my own shame? How often have I tried to avoid being truly seen because I was afraid of what that might mean? How many times have I believed the lie that my past disqualifies me from His love?

But here’s what this story tells me:
Jesus meets us right in the middle of our mess. He doesn’t wait for us to have it all together. He doesn’t cross His arms and wait for us to clean up our act. He sits at the well. He starts the conversation. He sees us fully—and still speaks gently.

The woman at the well didn’t have a perfect story. She had wounds. She had baggage. She had likely been used, abandoned, dismissed. But Jesus didn’t see her as a problem to be fixed—He saw her as a soul worth saving.

And what moves me the most? This was the longest personal one on one conversation Jesus ever had with anyone recorded in Scripture. Not with one of His disciples. Not with a Pharisee. Not with a Roman ruler. But with her. A woman. A Samaritan. A sinner.

That shows me so much about who He is.

He doesn’t play by religious rules or social expectations. He doesn’t label people the way the world does. He sees through the sin and into the soul. He speaks life where there’s been rejection. He offers living water to those of us who are just so tired of trying to fill ourselves with things that never last.

This story reminds me that I don’t have to run from Jesus when I feel unworthy. I can run to Him. Because He already knows everything about me—and loves me anyway.

The woman left her water jar behind. The thing she came for suddenly didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was who she had just met. She ran back to her village—the same village that likely shamed her—and told everyone about Him. Her testimony changed lives. Her story, once a source of shame, became a tool for salvation.

And that gives me hope. If Jesus could use her story, He can use mine.
If He met her in her brokenness, He will meet me in mine.

So, if you’re carrying anything heavy today… If you’ve been believing you’re too far gone or too messy or too unworthy… sit with this story for a moment. Jesus still goes out of His way to meet people at the well. He still speaks truth with tenderness. He still offers living water to the thirsty. He still transforms shame into purpose.

And He sees you.