The Power of a Story

It started with a simple trip to get water. But what happened at the well was so surprising, so life-altering, the woman couldn’t help but to tell everyone she knew.

“He knew everything about me,” she exclaimed, still floored by the stranger’s pinpoint accuracy. “You have to come see Him.”

The story of the Samaritan woman and her conversation with Jesus is recorded in John 4, one of the more famous passages in scripture. Jesus knew about her five husbands and current lover, and told her all about the Living Water that would satisfy her thirst forever.

This was the Messiah everyone was waiting for and He’d taken a seat right next to her. She left in a hurry to tell a story that sounded almost too good to be true.

Storytelling comes naturally to us. When we see something funny, or hear something crazy, or experience something new, our first inclination is to share. On Facebook and Instagram. Around the water cooler and the dinner table.

“You won’t believe what just happened…”

Most of us love to hear a good story as much as we like to tell one. We lean in for details, curious to hear about the experience of others. I’m convinced that storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have when it comes to communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Samaritans from the woman’s hometown were so intrigued by her encounter with Jesus that they couldn’t get to him fast enough. They begged him to stay in town a little longer. After a few days with Jesus, something pretty incredible happens:

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.”

John 4:42

Did you catch that? The woman’s story piqued their interest enough to dig deeper, to pay attention, and to listen more closely to the Words of Jesus. Then He spoke for Himself.

Are you ready to tell your story? It doesn’t have to be your entire faith journey. It could just be how Jesus delivered you from a moment of temptation, or offered forgiveness after you repented for losing it with your kids.

Your story matters. And it could be the very thing to pique someone’s interest enough to hear Jesus for themselves.