John 4:15-18: “The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, give me this water so that I wont get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.’ He told her, ‘Go, call your husband and come back.’ ‘I have no husband,’ she replied. Jesus said to her, ‘You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true”
John 4:26: “Then Jesus declared, ‘I, the one speaking to you – I am He.”
As I listened to Only Jesus by Cory Asbury on this blacked-out evening; I got caught up in a brief moment of self-interrogation. It was a silent, chilly one following a heavy late-afternoon cloudburst which had culminated in a regional blackout – as we have been accustomed to. Just there and then, I had an epiphany that this was in fact a blessing in itself – especially the blackout. How so?
Getting back to my moment of self interrogation; I’ll proceed to mention that it had very much been occasioned by the fact that I was a little more in tune with the Holy Spirit. This was the consequence of reduced distractions which rather ironically are always occasioned by the constant presence of visible light (you get what I am saying?). At this, I had only been caught up in a few household chores amidst the cadenced background humming of crickets with screen time being kept at the bare minimum.
As the track went on and on, I posed one to myself which went this way: “What is it that you’re scared to admit at this point?” The answer which came to mind wasn’t exactly what I was scared to admit but what I had already admitted which in this case had for a little while sparked some level of anxiety within me. My anxiety was centered on the fact that we are actually at the tail end of this thing and any time from now, like many video games usually display at the end of a simulation, the words “Game Over” would soon be displayed in all our faces. In this case, no one will be afforded the opportunity to rewind and make things right as the final judgment would have come.
The reason why this made me anxious wasn’t the fact that I hadn’t made things right yet but rather; it was due to the fact that it felt as if I had only but started to really experience the implication of God’s calling on my life. “If it were all to end right there and then, would I be sufficiently prepared to face the One who gave His best for me in long times past?” To cut the long story short, I began to find my way around this issue. I reminded myself that it is a good thing that I have been able to admit this with all honesty since this is what allows God to actually begin His work of restoration within us. What scares us isn’t at all a bother to Him as long as we have an open heart that is willing to submit to guidance – there’s nothing which God can’t guide us through. He is a God who works best when He actually meets us at our specific points of need. His grace is made perfect in our weakness.
This draws me to the last part of our discussion which is a cross-reference of the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus Christ at the well in John 4. Her story is a good demonstration of this principle whereby our honest admissions allow God to conclusively counsel us being the Wonderful Counselor He is (Isaiah 9:6). As stated in the verse John 4:17, the Samaritan woman plainly admitted that she didn’t have a husband when Jesus Christ requested her to go and bring him. Whatever she’d at first intended and whether she knew it or not, she was actually opening her heart to receive a revelation about the Messiah. In this case, the Messiah was seated right next to where she was to draw her water from. This revelation (“I am He” – John 4:26) utterly rerouted her life for the better as she ended up rallying an entire city behind Jesus Christ after this genuine conversation.
What if that unconfessed sin you are scared to admit between yourself and God is what’s blocking your heart from receiving that revelation which would utterly reroute your life for the better? At this, it would be good for you to remind yourself that no sin is unforgivable as long as anyone has a willing heart and a perceivable heartbeat – yea; that blood rush which you just felt is the most apparent sign that God is actively trying to pull you back into His presence. It doesn’t get more obvious than that!
God is with you at your specific point of need and He’s very ready and willing to have a person-to-person conversation with you as Isaiah puts it in Isaiah 1:18-20. You just need to be reasonable enough to say YES. Moreover, this is the only thing in life that those who truly believe in Him have figured out entirely. Brother and sister; we are all gracefully broken; just tarrying on earth for when we will be perfected in glory!
Anyway; if you are interested in finding out whether I found a tangible solution to my earlier-stated issue, it should please you to know that I’m also working through it – as I said; the only thing I have figured out in this life is the fact that I need the Lord’s guidance in everything. On His part, the Lord won’t in any way facilitate my anxieties but rather; He will more readily facilitate every small intentional step which I take while in an effort to improve myself. It is more important who I become as this makes what I do as a result all the more worthwhile.
Isaiah 1:18 – 20: “Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.’ For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
