My Morning with God- John 4:3-27

Devotional: The Great Exchange at the Well

Scripture: John 4:3–27https://www.bible.com/bible/compare/JHN.4.3-27

Due to the # of scriptures please follow link above for reading.

Sunday at The City Worship Center, Pastor Diggs reminded us of the importance of checking our baggage. Many of us come into God’s presence and even other relationships carrying heavy loads—past hurts, disappointments, regrets, and the weight of cycles that never satisfy. In John 4, the Samaritan woman at the well shows us what happens when we surrender our baggage and receive God’s gift of living water that is the great exchange.

Coming with Baggage

The woman arrived with water pots, but she carried more than clay vessels. She carried the baggage of failed relationships, the weight of rejection from her community, and the loneliness of a life lived on the margins. Those pots symbolized her routine attempts to quench a thirst that nothing in her life could satisfy. Pastor Diggs reminded us that our baggage may look different—broken trust, striving for approval, secret struggles—but it all leaves us weary and still thirsty.

Meeting the Living Water

At the well, Jesus saw beyond her baggage. He offered her something she didn’t even know she was thirsty for: “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst” (v. 14). This was the great exchange—her emptiness for His fullness, her shame for His grace, her baggage for His promise. Jesus didn’t avoid her mess; He addressed it, and in doing so, He gave her freedom.

Leaving It Behind

The woman’s response is powerful: “She left her water pot” (v. 28). She dropped what she came for because she had found what she truly needed. She exchanged her baggage for a testimony and ran back to the very people who once scorned her, boldly declaring, “Come, see a Man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (v. 29). Her story shows us that when Jesus transforms us, we don’t keep it to ourselves—we carry His testimony instead of our baggage.

Reflection for Us

What baggage are you still carrying to the well? Sunday’s message was clear: we cannot receive living water if our hands are too full of heavy pots. Jesus is inviting us to lay down our baggage—fear, shame, guilt, or the need to prove ourselves—and exchange it for His living water. Like the Samaritan woman, when we leave our baggage with Him, we walk away with freedom and a testimony that can transform others.

Prayer

Lord, as I sit on this balcony in Hawaii and see the beauty of what you created I thank You for being the Living Water that satisfies the deepest thirst of my soul. Today, I choose to check my baggage at Your feet. Help me to release the things I have carried for too long, and to walk in the freedom and testimony You give. May my life, like the woman at the well, be a witness of Your transforming power. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right Spirit within me.Amen.

✨ Key Takeaway: The woman came with pots and baggage but left with living water and a testimony. When we truly encounter Jesus, we never leave the same.