The encouragement women (actually) need: Part 2

Christian women are starving for encouragement that leads to greater and deeper love of Jesus. 

We are exhausted of platitudes and cliches. 

Examining Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well in John chapter 4, we can glean four biblical truths to encourage all women. In The encouragement women (actually) need: Part 1, we discussed the first two biblical truths: Jesus chases after us and Jesus calls us out of hiding. Here, we will look two more encouraging truths from this passage: 

Jesus offers us Himself.

Jesus chases after the woman at the well with an intentional encounter and then Jesus calls her out of hiding. Jesus is after hearts and He is always about getting to the heart of matters. 

After addressing her deep, dark, hidden sin, Jesus meets her sadness with the only thing that can actually satisfy - Himself. 

The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ.)

“When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Jesus told her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”- John 4:25-26

Christ reveals himself as Messiah, the promised One.

He does not give her relationship tips. He doesn’t ask her what happened with all of those husbands. He doesn’t ask her why she’s living with someone she isn’t married to. 

He doesn’t tell her to just look on the bright side or to “fake it until she makes it.”

Jesus offers Himself. 

He invites this woman to turn from sin and to acknowledge Him as Lord. 

In the book of John, this woman at the well is the very first person to whom Jesus openly reveals himself as the Messiah. Nicodemus the Pharisee met with Jesus just one chapter earlier and he did not have the privilege of hearing these words. 

Knowing that she is speaking to the Messiah changes everything for this woman. 

No longer is there concern over physical water, or even questions about where to worship.

She was speaking to the Messiah; the promised One who had come to make all things right again!

Jesus also chases us. 

Jesus also calls us out of hiding, and out of sin.  

Jesus also offers us Himself. 

Jesus calls us to a life of purpose. 

“The woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” - John 4:28-29

Jesus intentionally encountered this woman. He called her out of hiding, and out of her sin. 

He revealed Himself as Messiah, offering her salvation. 

But there is more. Jesus not only saves and redeems us - but He also gives us purpose. 

He will use us intentionally for His glory and for our joy. 

Too often our focus is only on what we have been saved from. And yes, thank God that He has saved us from sin and death. But there is also more. We have been saved not just from something, but also TO something - to live in freedom and joy for God’s glory. 

“Too often our focus is only on what we have been saved from. And yes, thank God that He has saved us from sin and death. But there is also more. We have been saved not just from something, but also TO something - to live in freedom and joy for God’s glory.” 

This woman at the well became an evangelist the minute that she became a disciple. And notice that there is no longer fear about running into people. She’s not hiding anymore. She wants everyone to know that she has met the Messiah. 

The disciples had probably gone into this same town to get food. And yet they were not the ones who shared the news of the Messiah’s arrival. God worked through this woman in a unique and powerful way. Many believed because of her testimony.

Women need to know that Jesus calls us to a life of purpose. 

(Here is my “Complementarian Disclaimer”: God has created men and women purposefully, and with intentional differences. God has given us equal value with some distinctly different roles.)

And yet too often women have received a message of being on the “B” team. The Old Testament term of “helpmate” has been filed down and reshaped into this picture of a woman who stands back in the shadows, silently applauding the men in her life to go out and do the “real work” of ministry, evangelism, or discipleship. 

But the true picture of “helpmate” is actually one of fighting side by side together in a fierce battle. The Hebrew word for helpmate, ezer, is actually powerful military language. And it is also used to describe how God helps His people.  

So often, I have heard Christian ministry leaders bemoan the fact that women in their churches are reluctant to step up and do the work of ministry.

But many women in the church have actually been led to believe that their most important job is simply to be content with doing very little. 

Jen Wilkin has said: “There is a misunderstanding that the gifts God gives to women are ‘nice’ but not necessary. God does not give needless gifts… The gifts of women are essential and indispensable to the mission of God” (Advance Conference, A29, 2017).

As His image-bearers, God has given women spiritual gifts that are vast and varied. In every biblical way, women must be encouraged to use their spiritual gifts for God’s glory, for the health and well being of their churches, and also for their joy. 

“As His image-bearers, God has given women spiritual gifts that are vast and varied. In every biblical way, women must be encouraged to use their spiritual gifts for God’s glory, for the health and well being of their churches, and also for their joy.” 

In closing, let us consider:

If Jesus has revealed Himself to us as Messiah, the Promised One, the Savior of the world - what has been our response? Has encountering Jesus changed everything for us? Like the woman at the well, have we allowed Jesus to meet us in our deepest wounds, turn our lives upside down, and reorder our priorities? Are we walking in freedom and joy in Christ, purposefully using our gifts for God’s glory? 

Ministry leaders, do the women in your church know that Jesus calls them to a life of purpose? Are women being trained, encouraged, and given opportunities to use their gifts for God’s glory and for the good of the Body? Are the spiritual gifts of women in your church viewed as “essential and indispensable to the mission of God?” 

Jess Proudfoot is an urban missionary in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She is part of the church planting team and also serves as the Director of Women’s Ministries at Grace Harbor Church in New Bedford.