Weekly Devotional: September 2, 2026
DEVOTIONAL BY
Major Kelly English
Corps Officer of Fairfax County, VA
GOD’S WORD
John 4:1-2
Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that He was baptizing and making more disciples than John (Though Jesus Himself didn’t baptize them - His disciples did).
DEVOTIONAL
“The Woman At The Well”
IT BEGINS AT A WELL
In the Gospel of John, chapter 4, verses 1 and 2, we run into one of the most personal conversations Jesus has with anyone in Scripture. A conversation that begins at a well and ends with a whole town stirred by the possibility of salvation. Jesus is weary from his journey. He finds himself at Jacob's well at noon.
It is the hottest and the least social part of the day. I believe this detail really matters. It's when a Samaritan woman comes to draw water, likely avoiding others due to social isolation, and perhaps the shame of her family situation. Jesus meets her in the margins, in the margins of her routine. In the moments when she least expects a divine interruption. Jesus had a habit of doing just this.
He then asks her for something that crosses multiple barriers: cultural, ethnic, and moral. He asks her for a drink. Jews typically avoided Samaritans, and rabbis typically didn't engage women publicly like this. And yet we find him stepping across all of the barriers and initiating this encounter that would change her eternity.
So, here's a point. God's grace isn't passive. God's grace doesn't care about cultural barriers or ethnic barriers or any of that. God's grace seeks us out, even when we feel unworthy or overlooked by society.
JESUS OFFERS SOMETHING ELSE
The conversation eventually turns from physical living water to Spiritual Living Water.
Jesus tells her that whoever drinks the water he gives will never thirst again. In the conversation, she first misunderstands. She's thinking in practical terms - Well, you don't even have a bucket to draw with!” But Jesus is speaking something deeper. He knows that her soul is longing for meaning. He knows that her soul is longing for forgiveness and some kind of connection with God. Not unlike many today, who chase after temporary satisfaction. She was there to dip water so that she could satisfy a thirst that would, without question, return by the next day.
Isn't it something how so many do the same thing today? Chasing after temporary satisfaction, success, relationships, or comfort only to find the next day that we're still thirsty, we're still longing, we're still fighting the emptiness, that temporary satisfaction never ever fills. But Jesus offers her something that will never run dry. Spiritual living water that flows from the very throne room of God. Spiritual water that would fill the emptiest of spaces in her relationships, even though she's never spoken of them to Jesus. Spiritual water that will drown out the loneliness and the dryness that is in her soul.
The conversation comes to another turning point. Jesus speaks to her about her own personal life, her multiple relationships, her current situation. He doesn't shame her. Instead, He brings the truth into the open as a pathway not to condemnation but to healing.
He knows that for her, real transformation requires honesty. She really can't receive the living water while she hides the thirst driving her.
SHE WENT HOME TO TELL OTHERS
The woman at the well shifts the topic to worship and where it should happen, i.e., what tradition was right. I think perhaps she did this to shut down the direction they were headed in. Jesus, in that way he does, responds by lifting the conversation beyond the location, beyond ritual. He says to her, true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For you see, worship isn't confined to a place, but it is rooted in authenticity. It's rooted in alignment with who God is. What it does is call us to examine not only how we worship, but also whether our hearts are engaged and our lives reflect the truth as the conversation unfolds. This woman recognizes that Jesus is beyond this world. He might even be the Messiah!
This is a moment when I wish I could see it unfold! She leaves her water pot behind and goes into town to tell the others. I believe the jar that she left behind symbolizes her original purpose for coming, and maybe, just maybe, it’s her old life. But! Encountering Jesus re-orders her priorities! She becomes a witness to what true living water looks like and tastes like. “Come and see,” she says. "Come see the man who told me everything about my life." She becomes a witness and invites others. She's inviting them. She doesn't need perfect theology. She doesn't need a polished story. She simply went home to share what she's experienced.
WE HAVE HEARD THE GOOD NEWS FOR OURSELVES
How'd the town people respond? They responded not because of her testimony, though it was powerful enough to bring them out. They responded because they had come to meet Jesus at this well, too. So powerful was this encounter that they said,
"We no longer believe because of what you said; now we have heard it for ourselves.” You know what this does: this points to the personal encounter of Jesus. We can point others towards Christ, but ultimately each person must encounter Him personally. It becomes real when it moves from second-hand to first-hand.
I love how this passage paints a picture of true, inclusive grace.
Look, here's a Samaritan woman. She's marginalized, she's morally complicated, spiritually curious, and she becomes one of the first evangelists in the Gospel of John. Her story shines as a beacon, showing that no one is beyond the reach of God's love and that no past disqualifies us from being used by Him.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
- Where are you seeking satisfaction that never fully quenches your thirst?
- Are there areas of your life you've avoided bringing to the light?
- How would your own encounter with Christ become an invitation for someone else?
Jesus is still meeting people at wells in ordinary places, ordinary moments, offering living water to any and all who would receive it.