He (Jesus) 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.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. John 4:16-19
Two nights ago, I attended a service where I responded to the altar call. the woman of God who prayed over me said a lot but tonight I was remined of when she said, "there are some cycles that are about to change. I feel like the Lord is changing some patterns. I see the Lord re-ordering some things and some cycles stopping."
Tonight, as I laid in bed, I found it very difficult to sleep probably because I slept for hours after church today. I was watching television when the thought of an old boyfriend suddenly entered my mind. I thought of him for a few minutes before a Bible verse came to mind and then the thought of him went away. It was only moments ago that I realized that my usual cycle was broken.
Normally, when I think of this guy, I end up making contact with him or he, coincidentally, makes contact with me. We would then engage in "getting caught up" which led to more conversations about the past. This would eventually somehow lead to loneliness, desiring a relationship or even being hurt again. I would withdraw from people and isolated myself. Then it would take me so time to claw my way back out. Tonight, none of that happened. As a matter of fact, I have no urge to make contact which worked out great since I removed ALL of his contact information from my life about a year ago when God untied me from my past.
When the thought of the past entered my mind it was quickly replaced by the thought of the woman at the well. Jesus knew her past even before she approached Him and yet He chose to meet her there. He knew her history but He also knew her future. It didn't matter to Him that she had five ex-husbands and is currently with someone she's not married to, Jesus still had a purpose for her life.
I remember when I first started in ministry, although God was able to use me where I was, I still had doubts about who I was in Him. I mean, why would the God who created the heavens and the earth choose me to do anything for Him? Why would my life matter? What could I do that would make any kind of impact? To this day it's difficult to think that God loves me even with my baggage and He has a purpose for me but then I see the woman at the well. After her encounter with Jesus, verses 28-30 says, "Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him." She directed others to Jesus.
Maybe that's what God wants to do in us. We all have a past that the enemy brings up from time to time to distract us but what if God wants to use that very thing as a testimony to draw others in? What if you HAD TO go through that process because someone in your life will need to hear your story and know that God is able to save? If we really look at this woman at the well, all she did was tell them what Jesus did and where He was. Jesus did the rest. Verses 39-42 reads, "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
I want to encourage you to allow God to break the negative patterns in your life because the reality of the situation is this, the thing that the devil is using to pull you away from God is the very thing that God wants to use to pull you in closer AND draw others in as well. When the enemy confronts you with your past, counteract with the word of God. Your past does not predict your future. If it did, we would all be lost. Instead of throwing a pity party, being depressed, withdrawing, hiding, or any of the other things we do when we feel guilty or ashamed, choose to go and meet Jesus at the well and let Him fill you with His unconditional love for you, just as you are.
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