Even when you’re all alone, you’re still known.
“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. John 4:16-17
The woman went to the well alone because she didn’t want to be embarrassed. She avoided the other women who visited the well in the morning, for a reason. She didn’t want side-eyes of judgement. She’d been married a bunch of times, was living with a guy now, and carried with her the burden of an ugly reputation. Home-wrecker, slut, infertile, disloyal… we don’t know. But she was enough of an outcast that she avoided other women in the community.
Nevertheless, the first thing Jesus did was to expose the woman’s deepest insecurity and place of shame. However, it wasn’t to embarrass her, but to embrace her.
Later she’d tell everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” John 4:29
She left the exchange feeling loved and accepted, not judged or condemned. Jesus addresses our shame to set us free.
The thing you’re most ashamed of is the place on which Jesus wants to build a foundation for your future. Being honest about reality opens the door to inner healing and the awareness that you’re completely loved, as you are, and invited to a more authentic and fulfilling version of your life.
Living water follows, letting Jesus love you.