A Little Encounter - A Little Goes a Long Way

“Now he had to go through Samaria… Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.” (John 4:4-6, NIV)

My first job out of college was as a community liaison for the government. With so much to learn, I was assigned a veteran liaison to train me. Each day Emily and I spent significant time together in our rental car, traveling from city to city. Though I didn’t realize it initially, I was receiving much more than training for my new job.

Emily became the mentor I didn’t know I needed. I had a daily passenger-seat view into the way she lived out her faith—her countenance, choices, and character consistently aligned with the Word. I quietly observed her listening to Christian music, bringing Scripture into conversation, sharing godly wisdom, praying before meals, working hard, and loving people. While I had a salvation moment as a preteen, Emily helped me to realize I could encounter God personally each day, not just in eternity. God certainly knew what he was doing when he placed us together for those few months. He knew how much I needed her example.

As I reflect on this experience, I’m struck by the fact that, because my encounter with Emily changed me, all the people I’ve encountered since that training nearly two decades ago have also been impacted. Many people have been touched because she was an ambassador of Jesus’ love—and an encounter with Jesus changes everything.

This was certainly the case for the woman at the well. This woman is never named, yet her encounter with the Son of God is the longest exchange Jesus had with an individual in the Gospel of John (4:1-42). The story begins with Jesus traveling through Samaria on the way to Galilee. Tired from his journey, he sat down at a well in the town of Sychar. Most Jews avoided this city, but Jesus purposefully traveled there to encounter this woman.

During their interaction, he asked her for a drink, and, by the end of the conversation, Jesus had given her living water. Though she didn’t initially understand the magnitude of this little encounter, she experienced the eternal effects. Jesus did more than satisfy her physical thirst, he satisfied the spiritual thirst she didn’t even realize she had. After this single encounter with Jesus, she led many more Samaritans from that town to encounter him and believe.

It is astounding to consider how many encounters we have on any given day. It is even more astounding to think about the potential significance each of those encounters can have. Whether these occurrences are scheduled or by surprise, frequent or rare, ongoing or once in a lifetime—God uses them all. What if we viewed every encounter as a divine appointment from him with the purpose of leading one another closer to him? Could your next encounter change the trajectory of your life, the other person’s life, or both? May every encounter with you be an encounter with him. How exciting to someday see where those encounters will lead no matter how insignificant they may seem at the time.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for the people you have placed in my life. I choose to believe every encounter is ordained and designed by you. Help me to realize that because I have encountered you, everyone I meet is an opportunity to share your love and Good News. Use me in every interaction to allow others to experience you through me. Amen.

View the next encounter you have with a person as one that has the potential to change everything! Consider how an encounter with you could lead to the other person having an encounter with Christ.