John 4: The Power of Story

When Bible readers think of John 4, their first thought is usually the woman at the well. Jesus asks a Samaritan woman for a drink, and by the end of the conversation reveals he is the Messiah.

But there’s another aspect to this account worth noting that highlights what I call the power of story. Verses 39-42 share:

³⁹ Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. ⁴¹ And because of his words many more became believers.

⁴² They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

The woman share her story of what Jesus had done in her life. As a result, others came to him and believed.

You may not think your story is worth much at times. Maybe this woman didn’t either. Regardless, she spoke up to those in her area of influence. People responded. Lives were changed.

Maybe today is the day God wants you to take a risk and tell the story about his work in your life with someone. You might not see a whole community come to faith in Jesus, but people may just respond. Lives could be changed. It’s a risk worth taking.

That’s the power of story.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author or co-author of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of the New Testament in 2011 at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.