Sometime we end up looking for love in the wrong places. That was true of a woman Jesus met at a well in Samaria. She’d tried religion but it didn’t satisfy her. She told Jesus, ‘Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem’ (John 4:20 NIVUK). So she knew her stuff about religion but it didn’t satisfy the longings of her heart. We can learn about theology, read the Bible and hear wisdom from other Christians, but if we’re not letting that knowledge move us and draw us closer to God then it won’t satisfy us. She’d also tried human relationships and they failed her. Jesus told her, ‘The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband’ (v. 18 NIV). The relationship we need most is with Jesus. She then tried Jesus and He satisfied her soul. When Jesus told her, ‘whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst’ she replied, ‘Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty’ (vv. 14-15 NIV). Religion without a personal relationship with God will leave us unsatisfied and unfulfilled. Religion without a relationship with Christ is not what God wants for us. If we’re feeling hurt, disappointed or disillusioned with life and the church, our souls can find satisfaction in a relationship with Jesus. In Psalm 42 it says: ‘My soul thirsts for God, for the living God’ (v.2 NIV). When our souls thirst for God, He promises to provide. Let’s keep in mind the words Jesus spoke to the woman at the well: ‘Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.’

What now?

Make a list of all the things you’ve been trying to find satisfaction from. Ask God to help you draw close to Him for satisfaction instead.