LIVING WATER – THE ANSWER TO EMPTINESS

by | Mar 9, 2023 | 2011 | 0 comments

Rita, a middle aged single woman came home after a stressful day at work. She lived alone in her tiny, modest flat. She sat down on the threadbare couch. Every day was the same. “Life is so empty,” she thought despondently. “I’m all alone.”

In an upmarket suburb, Gary, a successful businessman, sat on his patio. Everything seemed right on the outside. Yet something was missing. There was an emptiness in his life.

Different people. Different circumstances. Same problem. People cannot find true satisfaction from people, possessions, pastimes or pleasure. To them life is like the centre of a doughnut – empty.

What is God’s answer to emptiness? The answer can be found in the book of John chapter 4:1-16.

Jesus had left Jerusalem because of opposition from the Pharisees. Returning to the province of Galilee, he had to pass through Samaria , a no-go area for the Jews. The Assyrians had conquered Jerusalem, the Israelites had been deported to Assyria and foreigners had been brought in to keep the peace. Inter-marriage occurred, resulting in a mixed race, despised by the “pure” Jews.

Jesus was physically thirsty, the midday heat having taken its toll. He came to a well outside the city which was not a spring fed well. Water had to be drawn from it. Jesus met a woman at the well and asked her to give him a drink of water, initiating a conversation which was taboo. (John 4:7-10) This was because

She was a despised Samaritan of mixed race.

She was a woman.

She was shunned because she had a bad reputation. She had had five husbands and was living with a man.

She was alone in a public place.

Unrelated men and women did not speak to each other in public places.

These were the cultural restrictions which Jesus ignored. He sensed that she was incomplete. She had looked for security in human relationships, but could not find it. Something was missing but she didn’t know what it was. She had not found completeness in the arms of six different men, and had probably been abused and humiliated by some of them. Divorce laws allowed a man to “put away” a wife for trivial reasons. She had been rejected, but Jesus promised to quench her spiritual thirst. He told her he was the expected Messiah. Completeness was found when she met the 7th man in her life. God is the “foundation of life” (Psalm 36:9). He is the “spring of living water” (Jeremiah.2:13).

She then enthusiastically told the people in her town about her experience, and many came to believe in Jesus as Saviour of the world. She began to understand and experience this new life – that she was complete in Christ.

Drinking from the world’s well could not fill the emptiness in Rita’s or Gary’s lives any more than the Samaritan woman.

However, even believers can experience that emptiness.

  • Do you feel empty or lonely?
  • Is there anybody or anything in your life that is an attempt to fill your emptiness?
  • Is joy and peace lacking in your life?

God’s answer to these feelings of emptiness is to fill the void in our lives with his presence. We were created for a relationship with God. We were created to enjoy a sense of belonging, acceptance and being valued by him. We will continue to feel incomplete if we try to fill this void with anything but his presence. Through an ongoing close relationship with Jesus, you find the answer to every one of life’s challenges. He will not disappoint you. Your name is on every one of his many promises. Jesus is a person, and like any friendship we have with others, a relationship takes time to develop. This means spending time together, and sharing, listening and talking about anything and everything that is on your mind. It means being real with him about your struggles and worries.

Drink of the Living Waters and you will have a new perspective. You will never be alone. Never again will you experience that spiritual thirst.

 

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