Victory Comes with Letting Go

Joshua 1:9(NLT)
“This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged.  For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

The Samaritan woman at the well in John, Chapter 4, was a broken woman. She had gone to the well to draw water for her family like many other women that were living during that time. So, when she met Jesus at the well, it might have seemed like any other day for her, but it wasn’t at all. She was at such a place in her life that God chose to work through her to help many others come to Christ and be set free. Her woundedness had caused her to step outside cultural norms of that Biblical period, and this was a very difficult choice for any woman living during that time. It meant a challenging life of constant stares, backbiting gossip, and shame. This was her condition when she met Jesus at the well, and the words he spoke broke the chains that had kept her bound.

Escaping the heat of summer days in Samaria, most women would come to the well in the early morning hours to draw water. The Samaritan woman that met Jesus at the well came late, and many believe it was to avoid the other women who would ridicule, stare, or be mean to her in other ways. Jesus Christ said to her in John 4:10-14(NLT), “10 If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water." 11 "But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you're greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?" 13 Jesus replied, "Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life."

This woman understood thirst. She knew intimately what it meant to be empty inside, and to try to fill a void with love from those who had no real love to give. John 4:15-18(NLT) tells us, “15 "Please, sir," the woman said, "give me this water! Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come here to get water." 16 "Go and get your husband," Jesus told her. 17 "I don't have a husband," the woman replied. Jesus said, "You're right! You don't have a husband-- 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren't even married to the man you're living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!" Having five husbands was very unusual for the times in which she lived and surely branded her with shame.

We could suppose that the woman at the well was working toward her sixth marriage because she thought, “If I can just be with this man, my life will be different. If I can get him to love me, I will be whole and satisfied, and I will be at home in his arms.” This was probably her thinking before each of the five marriages she had. Being alone for any length of time was a state she couldn’t accept. Whether it was overly romanticizing relationships or just boredom, it’s clear that her heart needed to be healed.

It’s not hard to imagine that she had grown used to living in the shadows, trying to find love and security in these men. If she had not met Jesus at the well, her fears and emptiness would have continued to rob her of love and light, but God had a plan. When Jesus began to talk to her about living water, she didn’t understand what he meant. She hadn’t thought of her soul as being starved and desperate to know real love. She didn’t think that anyone or anything could elevate her out of the pit of shame, insecurity, and self-punishment. For the longest while, it was all she knew, and letting go of them seemed out of the question.

There were plenty of women in Samaria that were considered by others to be good and upright wives. They knew the well and many of them used it, but it was the broken woman that had been married five times that God handpicked to meet Jesus that day. God wants you to know this, so that when you come to Him, you do so with the knowledge that He will heal all your woundedness if you let Him. We can let go of the shame, the insecurity, and all the pain we’ve endured through the storms of life that we have faced. Through whatever struggle, we can experience the peace of God. He will never leave us alone, and He will help us in our times of great struggle. Let go and let God. Have faith in Him, and He will turn your tribulation and trouble into a testimony of your victory in Christ. ■ 

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Victory Comes with Letting Go”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.