The Samaritan Conundrum

Rev. Robert Ampiah-Kwofi

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” John 4:7-10

The story of the Samaritan woman in John 4:1-42 is about a confused woman who God helped. So we believe that for those facing any trouble, the hand of God can reach you and bring His touch of peace and His miraculous hand into your situation. 

In the story, Jesus needed to go through Samaria. The town was an Israelite town but it was no more populated by pure Jews. It was now populated by people who were of mixed heritage. Their culture and religion was different. Everything about them was so different and there was no peace between the Jews and the Samaritans even though they dwelled in the same land. The Samaritans were looked down upon by the Jews because of what happened to them and how it affected their cultural, social, and religious background. When the woman came to fetch the water, Jesus tells her to give Him a drink. And she replies, knowing that it is socially unacceptable to interact with one another. She notices Jesus’ audacity but He is not surprised by her response. When she realizes who Jesus was, we see her response in John 4:28-30: 

The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.

Just like the woman, we pray that we will know how to respond to God’s goodness that we may show great kindness even if we are also facing confusion and carrying our own burdens in life. And just like Jesus, let us not be afraid to break the social norms and disrupt the social order to do what’s right. 

Draw from God’s power 

Like the Samaritan woman, we all have our weaknesses. Whether it’s a sin, our stature in life, or our health, we seem to be weak vessels that won’t be able to keep God’s power. However, the Samaritan woman is also powerful in her drawing power—she told people about Jesus the Messiah, forsaking everything the public knew about her. By the supernatural power of God, we declare that every area of weakness that lets things slip out of your hand will become strong to hold what God has intended for you. 

Sometimes, what we don’t care about may be having an impact on our lives. We may say we are making our own decisions, our strength is ours, our money is ours, our time is ours, but God says we belong to Him. And if we want to draw power from Him, His agenda needs to be our agenda. 

As we seek to be blessed by God, we want the people around us, especially those in our family to be part of it. But God reminds us that, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21).” The flow of your treasure will command the direction of your heart. The verse did not say where your heart is, there your treasure will be. Rather, it’s the other way. This means that if you put your wealth into the Kingdom of God, your heart will follow. 

Better days are coming 

In 2 Kings 17:22-23 it says, “For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, until the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.” 

Let us be careful that we don’t let idols become our treasure. Our worship must belong only to God. We should not be manipulated by people deliberately hindering us from worshiping so that they can keep us in the place they want us to be. These days, we are fighting a battle, and if we are to see a victory, we must not let idolatry take away our worship. Allow the Lord to empower you. Allow Him to break the chains and destroy every yoke. 

If whatever you lost is still there, you can recover it all. You can rebuild it all. The Lord will give you a total and complete recovery. A particular grace is falling upon Evangel Cathedral that everything that belonged to this house is coming back. Everything that belonged to your business, family, marriage, children, and personal life is coming back. 

Grace is coming back into your life. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform a revival, and it’s starting. It’s coming back into our house. No more will we have to speak of the good old days because the coming days are better than anything we ever had before. Greater things are coming up. Higher things are coming. A stronger and greater glory is coming. Greater anointing is coming. Greater prosperity is coming. The mighty move of God is coming with His restoration. 

When Jesus traveled through Samaria, the Samaritans didn’t want Him there. But then He revealed Himself to the woman at the well. This encounter led to a revival and a restoration despite all the hindrances that stood for generations. 

No matter what your mission is, may God’s power overpower your own. Let Him fill you with His mission, His purpose. Get fired up to serve God in a different way. Discover your divine purpose so that you will see that you will have an encounter that will turn your life around in the pursuit of the supernatural. Like the Samaritan woman, whatever you may be going through right now, one encounter with Jesus can change your life. He can use you to bring people to Him. Draw near to receive the fresh anointing and grace He gives you today.