One day Jesus was walking through Samaria. He was weary, so he rested at Jacob's well. In the heat of the day, a woman came to draw some water. The Bible says: "Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.'. . . the Samaritan woman said to Him, 'How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?' . . . Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying 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 water with, and the well is deep. Where do You get the living water? Are you greater than our father, Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.' Jesus said to her, 'everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will be become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'" (John 4:7-14).
Jesus is the Living Water. This is what all people need, whether they are in Africa, or India, or China, or the United States. We all need the spiritual water Jesus gives. The Bible says that we are prisoners of "the waterless pit" (Zechariah 9:11). Think of that -- prisoners in a pit with no water.
How long do you think a person can live without drinking water? Not very long. You can live a long time without food, but not without water. Have you ever been really thirsty? So thirsty that you thought you were going to die. I am told there is no feeling quite like it.
The Apostle Peter talked about wells without water (II Peter 2:17). Think of travelling across the desert and coming to a well where you believe there is water. You are thirsty. Your tongue is swollen. Your cheeks and lips are parched but when you arrive at the well, there is no water.
"WATERLESS PITS"
Are you in a "waterless pit" right now? In your family? In your business? Maybe you are a young person not knowing what vocation to follow, not knowing what to do about marriage, not knowing what to do about the problems you have gotten yourself into -- you are finding yourself in a pit without any water.
Maybe you have tried everything to satisfy, to bring peace and joy to your life, to have a sense of forgiveness or a sense of belonging. And you haven't found it. Jesus said, "everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again" (John 4:13).
Drink of the water of drugs, and you will thirst again. Drink of the water of fame, and you will thirst again. Drink of the water of popularity, and you will thirst again. Drink of all other waters being offered today, and you will thirst again.
But drink of the living water that Jesus will give you, and you will never thirst. Jesus said, "the water that I will give [you] will become in you a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:14).
WHAT YOU THIRST FOR
The Bible says, "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money come, buy and eat" (Isaiah 55:1). And "let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price" (Revelation 22:16-17). Yes, come and buy; it's without price. Some of you are thirsting for this -- a personal relationship with Christ.
Come to the water! Drink of the living water! Become excited about Christ! "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:3). The wells of salvation are being offered to you. Come and draw the water with joy!
THE LIVING FOUNTAIN
When you come to the water, there's a satisfaction beyond anything words can describe. Jesus said, "if anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'" (John 7:37-38).
The Samaritan woman had come to that well. She had come be divine appointment. Jesus was passing by, and He stopped to rest. This woman came at that moment.
This woman had an empty life. Her expectations in life had faded, no longer expecting, no longer hoping for anything different, she was on the same old treadmill. She had been married five times, and when Jesus spoke to her she was living with a man who was not her husband. Having tried nearly everything, she was miserable, unhappy -- thirsty.
"Come to the water; drink of the living fountain," Jesus told her.
The woman said, "Sir, give me this water" (John 4:15). Will you say that? He offers the same living water to you. Will you accept His offer today?
Lord Jesus, give me that living water. I want forgiveness of my sins. I want to know that I am going to Heaven. I want a new life. I am tired of the old life I have been living. I want something else in life. I believe that You are the Living Water. I believe that You died for my sins, and conquered death, so that I can drink of the Living Water and have eternal life and a personal relationship with you. Amen.
--Billy Graham
