worship

The Gospels tell countless stories of a person’s encounter with Jesus and subsequent life change. Small moments drastically altered the lives of men and women. John 4 tells one of these stories. A Samarian woman comes to a well at noon (to avoid the crowds due to shame) to fill her water jug. She gets way more than what she was expecting when Jesus approaches her at the well. He asks her questions that only her and God would know, proving His omniscience. He also tells her that He is the only thing that will satisfy her needs, He is the only water she can drink without growing thirsty again. He even tells her that He is the Messiah that she has been waiting for. The story could end here and still be significant, but it doesn’t, thankfully, because one my favorite verses comes next:

“Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people.” (John 4:28)

The first part of the verse reminds me of the series finale of Friends, when Rachel says about Ross, “He got off the plane.” The moment is climactic and every time I watch it, I jump up and down because its one of the few moments that feels like things end up the way they’re supposed to. Anyways, the woman leaves her water jug at the well; she had spent the better part of her life continually going to the well to fill the water jug. By leaving the water jug behind, she left her old way of life behind. She realized that what she had spent her life trying to do for satisfaction would never satisfy, and she left it behind.

Equally as significant is what she left it behind to do. Remember the woman came to the well at noontime to avoid people and potential judgment? That same woman, after encountering Jesus, goes into town to tell people about Him. She was so transformed and affected that she could not, not share her experience with the people she was hours before avoiding. She immediately becomes a witness for Christ, out an overflow of her worship of Him.

I like to be busy. I like to do. I like checking things off lists. I like setting goals and achieving them. All of these things are good, but they can prevent me from worship. Worship, in the life of a Christian, needs to be more than singing along to songs, but instead needs to be a heart posture. A moment by moment surrender to God and His ways. A constant desire to make God’s name known, and to enjoy Him for who He is. For me, this doesn’t happen when I plan too much, evaluate situations based on succeeding and failing, or focus on my to-do list. I want to encounter Jesus every day and be changed continually. I want my worship of Him to overflow into all areas of my life, and conversations with people daily.

May I be like the woman at the well, who after a short encounter with Jesus leaves what she thought would satisfy her and took off to tell people about how He changed her life. May my worship of Jesus be my witness for Him. May I stop worrying and striving, and start worshipping. May worshipping the Lord be the goal of my day, my week, and my life.