Your Story Matters

“I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband.

John 4:17 NIV

I’ve had these words rolling around in my head this past week and, as you can probably tell by this post, they remain in my thoughts. I can’t escape this passage. I can’t get over the implications. I’m captivated by Jesus’ words and the woman’s response.

We ARE the Samaritan woman at the well.

I am the Samaritan woman at the well.

YOU are the Samaritan woman at the well.

Jesus stepped down into our world, our lives, to radically alter the course of history. It was such an important point in our history that time stopped and restarted. Everything led up to the life of Jesus and everything else has followed. I’m speaking of the calendar of course (as well as redemptive history).

He came for the broken. He came for the sick. He came for the weary. He came for the defenseless. He came for the hurting. He came for you. He came for me.

And here, at this well, I see the perfect picture of my relationship with him. I was this broken person that lacked any sense of self-worth. I was convinced that my life was over, that my ability to make a difference was thrown out the door because of my past, because of the choices I had made. But Jesus saw through my struggles, as he did with the woman at the well, and instead he saw what COULD be.

He saw what WOULD be.

Jesus invites us to be identified as his, not as our struggles, not as our past. You say, “I can’t do this because…” God says, “I can use you BECAUSE…” Someone out there right now, someone you know, someone you’re close to, believes this lie. Who knows, maybe it’s still you. Maybe you’ve never really grasped this idea that God can, will, and wants to use you for His glory.

God will use your story to change someone’s life. God will use your story to change the world.

As you step out today, as you take that one step, follow it up with your story. What has God done in your life? How have you experienced God’s grace?

Someone needs to hear your story.