The Two Phases – Anticipation and Reality!

Dear Brother/Sister in Christ,

"But the hour cometh, and now is..." John 4:23

Phase one: anticipation. This woman had lived through 5 failed marriages, become the talk of the town, and lost her capacity to trust others or respect herself. Then Jesus showed up and said, "The hour cometh." What a message: "Things are about to change. What you're weeping over today you'll rejoice over tomorrow." God's grace turns the failures of our past into fertilizer. Like a lily springing up in a mud marsh, God offers us: "Beauty for ashes, and the garment of praise in exchange for the spirit of heaviness." (See Is 61:3).

Notice when Christ mentioned this woman's past, He wasn't a Pharisee pointing an accusing finger. No, He was the Good Shepherd walking for miles to find one lost sheep; the great Physician pouring healing love into her deepest wounds; and "the door" that leads out of misery and into the life she always longed for.

Phase two: reality. "And now is." The waiting is over. Anticipation turns to reality and she seizes her moment. When Jesus said, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give…shall never thirst" (Jn 4:14); she replies: "Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not" (Jn 4:15). She reaches by faith and receives what He has for her.

Then redeemed, recycled and redirected, this woman with a questionable past goes all over town introducing others to Christ. What a story! And what Jesus did for her He'll do for you. What He said to her He says to you: "Your time has come. Your breakthrough is at hand. Believe it, receive it and walk in it."