From Belief to Knowing: Developing a Deeper Relationship with God
The story of the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 is a powerful reminder of what it means to move from simply believing in God to truly knowing Him. It’s a journey of discovering God not just through the words of others but through our own personal encounters.
In John 4, the Samaritan woman is struck by Jesus’ knowledge of her life. She runs back to her village, excited to tell others about the man she met at the well, wondering if He might be the Messiah. She invites everyone to “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (John 4:29). Her enthusiasm draws people to Jesus—they come because of her story, but as they listen to Him, they believe because of their own experience.
“And they told the woman, ‘We no longer believe because of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world’” (John 4:42).
This powerful transformation—from belief sparked by another person’s story to knowing through personal experience—reflects a deepening relationship with God. We may first encounter God through others’ stories, but it’s when we experience Him ourselves that our faith is solidified.
Leaving the Old Life Behind
Earlier in John 4, Jesus speaks to the woman about “living water” (v10), a gift that will quench her thirst for eternity. He tells her that anyone who drinks the water He offers “will never get thirsty again” and that it will become “a well of water springing up in him for eternal life” (John 4:13-14). This living water symbolizes the new life He gives, a life reborn through faith in Him.
When the woman leaves her water jar behind as she hurries to her village, it’s a beautiful, symbolic act. The jar represents her old life—a life she is ready to leave behind because she has encountered the living water that Jesus offers. Her experience with Jesus changes her, and she is filled with an eagerness to share this good news. And through her, others find their way to Him and experience this transformation themselves.
From Hearing About Him to Knowing Him
Many of us start our faith journeys based on what others tell us about Jesus. These stories are important, and they help us build a foundation. However, God invites us to go further, to go beyond hearing and into knowing. We’re encouraged to come to Him directly, to experience Him personally, to drink from His living water.
In our own lives, this means making space for a personal relationship with Him—studying His Word, praying, and allowing His Spirit to work in us. It means trusting that God is not only a distant figure we hear about on Sundays but someone we can know intimately, someone who wants us to come to Him with our questions, our needs, and our praises.
“We no longer believe because of what you said,” the villagers told the woman. They had experienced Jesus for themselves, and this deepened their faith, growing their understanding of who He really is.
Drinking from the Living Water
When we turn to Jesus and drink from the living water He offers, we find a source that sustains us beyond what anything else in this world can offer. No one can drink this water for us; it’s something we must seek and draw from ourselves. Just as the Samaritan woman’s life was transformed by her encounter with Jesus, our lives can be transformed as we let go of the “old jars” that weigh us down, those remnants of our past selves.
Lord, we come to You with open hearts. We thank You for the stories and testimonies that have drawn us closer to You, and we praise You for the encounters that have deepened our faith. Help us to experience You more deeply, to know You for ourselves. Open our hearts, our eyes, and our ears so that we may drink fully from the living water You offer, allowing it to become a well of eternal life within us. In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.
Each of us has our own journey with God, but the call is the same: to experience Him, to know Him deeply, and to let His living water fill us with life that never fades. May we all continue to seek Him and let His presence sustain us in all we do.