Change Your Thoughts. Change Your Life. Pt. 6
The Voices in Your Life Are The Lid On Your Happiness (Part 2)
In the last post, we left off in the middle of Jesus' incredible encounter with a hurting woman at an ancient well. In retelling her encounter with Jesus, John clarifies that our beloved Samaritan sisters' story was much like mine… as many of our stories. She had sought satisfaction and fulfillment in so many false promises that the idea of something new overwhelmed her.
“Sir, give me this water—she exclaims—so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Feel her words… I will never have to keep coming here to draw water. Her words, and the context, tell the pain of her story. There is a seemingly minor detail at the very start of John's account that is easily read past, and it shapes so much of what was happening in her life. It was about noon when Jesus arrived at the Well.
Noon in Palestine was the hottest point of the day. Think New Orleans, Cambodia, Arizona and Uganda somehow had a baby. Those babies grew up, got married, and had a baby, producing the hottest place on earth.
History tells us that no one went to draw water at that time of day, but she did. Why?
Jesus' response to her asking for the living water He offers gives us a clue.
“Go, call your husband, and come back.” “I have no husband.” She replied. Jesus knew what her response would be before she gave it.
“You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband.”
She was drawing water at noon in one of the hottest places on earth because the unquenched thirst of her soul played out in six broken relationships and had set her at odds with even the moral standards of the Samaritan people.
It is no wonder she replies to Jesus’ offer of living water with a desire never to have to return to that Well again.
Astonished that Jesus sees her and knows her life circumstances—without being told by anyone—she assumes Him a Prophet.
He is much more.
She unpacks her theology.
Jesus corrects her understanding.
They have a riveting exchange that requires Jesus to be fully present to God, Self, and her, a model for us to follow as we engage others with God's truth.
God is seeking to give her a new story, Jesus tells her. He is actively searching for those who will be satisfied entirely in Him.
Despite all of her debate about mountains and places and ancestors, despite her present pain and paralysing circumstances, she still has some understanding that there is a Messiah. She says that He will sort it out for everyone when He comes.
Jesus seizes the moment: “I am He, the one who is speaking to you.” Jesus declares that He is more than a man or a prophet. He is God. He is the Saviour of the world.
If you are not yet a follower of Jesus' way, hear His self-description. As C.S. Lewis said, he is either Liar, Lunatic, or Lord—but He cannot be anything other.
If you are a follower of Jesus, remember who this Jesus is that you follow. He is King of the universe, and in Him, we live and move and breathe and have our very being!
As the conversation between Jesus and this sister concludes, Jesus' disciples return from town. They are amazed that He is talking to a woman, but, at least at this moment, they seem to know better than to ask why or protest.
The beloved sister with whom Jesus spoke, fully overcome and transformed by her encounter with Him, left her water jar and ran for the town. She completely abandoned her original purpose of gathering water and returned to the place and people from whom she was hiding.
Her inherited narrative no longer had the final word in her life! She abandoned her water jar, representative of her seeking satiation and being subject to alienation, and went back into the town with new freedom.
She was so free—in fact—that she told everyone in the town: “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! Could this be the Messiah?” Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.”
Jesus, knowing everything she had ever done… knowing the story she told herself, which had her collecting water in the middle of the day… knowing her inherited narrative, entered her story and changed it… forever.
And she, happy and delighted, returned to the place of her former shame and proclaimed to anyone who would listen how her life had changed.
I want to offer you two reasons why I believe this post should matter to you and me, and the first is this—try as we might, we cannot entirely rewrite our story, not on our own, not in our own strength.
If you ever spend some heavy-duty time in counseling, you will learn this quickly. You and I inherit narratives from our family of origin, early friend groups, and a litany of experiences. We live out that story for so long that it becomes intuitive; we do not know anything else.
Unless an external force enters the picture, we cannot even see the story we are living, and we certainly cannot just alter it.
No. We need an intervener, and Jesus is the ultimate intervener. He shows us our inherited narrative without judgment, and He offers us a new narrative, a new story that promises abundant life.
The second reason is that many people who follow the way of Jesus are redeemed but not free. Jesus has given you a new narrative, a new story, but you are looped in living the old one.
Today is the day you say enough with the narrative I inherited, which is hindering my happiness. I will abandon that narrative for the one Jesus offers, which tells me that I am loved, gifted, graced, and a part of God's family forever!
So how do you get a new story or re-believe the one you have already been given? Make this your prayer for the next seven days:
Jesus, I receive the story you are rewriting.
Now, if you want to call a halt to this journey toward sustainable happiness with the ideas from the first four posts, I understand.
Taking hold of your rogue negative thoughts, rewiring your brain to think positively, and ensuring that the voices in your life promote your happiness rather than demote it will go a long way in pointing you toward a better life.
Still, your best and most abundant life can only be found on the other side of Jesus entering your story and giving you a new one.
We see this pattern—of an outside force entering a person's narrative and pointing them to a new story—even in Disney movies. Film, particularly Disney films, teaches us something powerful and important about the need for a new story.
In nearly every Disney movie, especially the princess movies, the protagonist gets a new story that ultimately brings happiness and fulfillment. It is a beautiful reflection of art imitating life.
So I guess what I am asking today is, will you allow Jesus to enter your story and change your life forever? If you do, peak happiness is well within reach.