My intentions are great, but the day seems to be slipping away like sand between my fingers. Somehow, I can’t grasp hold of the things I need to get accomplished; I’m tired. I’ve had my quiet time, talked to God, made my bed, organized my desk and a whole laundry-list of other items yet, I can’t get to the one thing I know I need to do. I want to be well-intentioned, but try as I may, I fail.

Even with your best intentions, please, tell me you’ve been in this same place.

Are you tired too, sweet friend? Tired of trying to get your hustle on, keep showing up, and be the best version of yourself? Me too. In fact, I’m exhausted from running too hard and never getting anywhere I thought I’d be by now. All this running has left this girl thirsty.

Our intentions are good, but until we get ourselves to the WELL of Living Water, we’re going to be running a race we can’t win and wearing ourselves out for nothing. After years of running in all the wrong directions, trying to satisfy a deep thirst from within, I finally realized that the truth is only Jesus satisfies.

And, that’s how I became a Well-Intentioned Woman

Yes, I’m still tired at times. Inevitably, I find myself trying too hard–striving instead of abiding, running instead of sitting still, yet my heart is settled by the One who refreshes my want-to and refines my intentions. When at last, I set myself on the path of least resistance and align myself with Holy Spirit’s beckoning, I find my way to the Well to sit for a spell with Jesus. I’m much more intentional now; I am a well-intentioned woman. Raise your hand, if you’d like to be one too.

Honestly, there’s nowhere else my soul finds the rest my restless heart needs. In the heat of the moment, when the crap hits the fan and I lose my temper at the slightest offense, I know where I need to go. When I’ve forgotten. When my best intentions weren’t enough. When I’m tired of trying and think about quitting. This is when I know I need to take the big heavy jar of empty promises I’ve been carrying around and lay it at Jesus feet…to drop everything and run as fast as I can to the Living Water who promises to refresh my soul that thirsts–longing for more.

Though the world with its kind intentions would try to tell me it has what I need, I know better now. Y’all, I drank the enemy’s kool-aid; though sweet at first, it turns bitter in your mouth with its terrible half-truths and burning aftertaste scorching your throat once you’ve drained the glass one too many times. Satan is sneaky in his attempts to get us to gulp down what he has to offer. But once you wise up to his age-old ways, you learn to decline his invitations no matter how thirsty you think you are.

Have you been thirsty in a dry land lately?

Do you feel like you’re waiting on something to satisfy your soul yet even with the best of intentions, in all your searching, you’ve found nothing that quenches your deep thirst? Do you long to be well-intentioned too?

When it comes to quenching our spiritual thirst, there’s no substitute for Jesus; He’s the Living Water that gushes up inside of us, filling us to overflow. The counterfeit, imitation sweetener-filled concoction the world is offering comes at a high price and leaves us unsatisfied. On the contrary, the authentic, grace-filled refreshment Jesus offers can’t be duplicated; once tasted you’ll be hooked on His sweet Presence and nothing else will do. There’s nothing like the real thing, baby…ohhh…(singing that song in my head, you too?).

True Confession #1 There’s Nothing Like the Real Thang

I know a woman who spent her whole life settling for something less than the real thang. She had a reputation for being unsatisfied and unwanted. Deep down she longed for something more, but continued to settle for something less–until she met a Man who quenched her thirst forever; His name was Jesus. On that day, she became the Well-Intentioned Woman. I am that woman, but there’s also a woman in the Bible who has a similar tale of how her life got turned around. We all have a story of how we got here and the good intentions that lead the way to the good stuff, but it’s grace that paves the way to the God stuff.

Here’s her story…A Mission-Intentioned Man, Many Men, & A Hot Mess

On the outskirts of town, in the heat of the day, that’s where He’d find her. He was on a mission; Jesus had a divine appointment on this day and He wasn’t about to miss it. With great intention, He took the the long way around to be exactly where He needed to be(that’s what grace does…X marks the spot, you know). This day was on the Kingdom calendar long before she was born and her monumental moment in time was this day. The Living Water had been patiently waiting and was ready to pour Himself out for her.

She was weary from her search(I know, you are too) and so very tired–energy sapped, joy long since run dry. She had no idea what this day held for her, but breakthrough was waiting. In the mundaneness of the moment, hoping to stay out of sight, go unnoticed and unseen, she was just doing the next thing in front of her to get through the day. Like so many days before, she just wanted it to be over…to get this daunting chore completed without any drama.

I’ve been there; have you? Not wanting anyone to see you–running around in your cloak of shame? Trying to stay out of the way, unseen, unnamed. That’s exactly how I imagine this woman felt. She had intentionally arrived in the hottest part of the day to avoid the gaggle of gossiping women, telling herself, “I’m a hot mess, the hottest hour of the day is perfect…surely, no one will be there.”

But, Jesus…

He waited to meet her in her mess. Five broken marriages behind her, and this new guy…he wasn’t fully committed either. She longed to be taken care of–to quit trying so hard to make ends meet, to be enough, to satisfy his needs instead of meeting her own…yet, it was all she knew. She felt backed into a corner; how else could she survive?

But, Jesus…

He knew her thoughts. In fact, He knew everything she’d ever done and loved her anyway. He loved her in the middle of her messy, broken, mundane life. Why? Because His love is not only extravagant, it’s scandalous. No one thought her worthy of more than the gossip rolling off their holier-than-thou tongues.

No one, but Jesus…

He saw what was inside her well-intentioned heart. He saw her for who He’d made her to be. He knew the destiny the enemy had tried so desperately to thwart. Jesus knew the enormous impact she’d make for the Kingdom–reaping a whole-town harvest she couldn’t begin to imagine…neither could they. Because mercy triumphs over judgment, He wanted her to see it too–to see herself through His adoring eyes. Just one glimpse of reality would reveal Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, the Savior she’d been searching for all this time.

True Confession #2 Once blinded by self-loathing, now she would see.

Sitting on the edge of the well, He waited for her arrival. With anticipation, He saw the fear in her eyes as she forced herself to forge her way to finish the task she’d come for…she needed the water…no turning back now…she’d come too far…she didn’t realize how thirsty she’d become in all her years of running…she was soul-thirsty now…not knowing what else to do…she pressed on with the greatest of intentions to get her job done and get out of there in record time. (my heart just skipped a beat…oh wait, this is her story…I lost myself for a moment…it is so much like mine).

However, Jesus…

He was thirsty too. In His wisdom, He asked her for the very thing she needed most, a refreshing drink to wet a parched and dying soul. Both of their journeys had been long. Both needed a drink; both soul-thirsty. He thirsted for her Eternity, and though she didn’t know it, the longing in her heart was eternal too. When He asked, she drew deep from the well and gave Him a drink. As He drank, he shared with her about some water that would quench her thirst so she’d never be thirsty again. Well, that perked her ears up. Maybe she wouldn’t have to come back to this gossip hole again, wouldn’t that be nice.

Still blinded to who He really was, she asked him hard questions and admitted to looking for a Savior. He spoke the truth in love, about having the right heart instead of being in the right place. She was still confused, but He could see the intention of her heart and He knew the time was right.

The wait was over, Jesus intentionally revealed His identity, as the long-awaited Messiah, essentially saying, “I am that Man.”

She couldn’t help but respond, “I want that water!” In this moment, the grace of God washed over the stain-ridden heart of this hard-hearted woman who’d long given up on finding a man to satisfy her deepest needs. “You don’t have to wait any longer, the Anointed One is here speaking to you–I am the One you’re looking for.” John 4:26 TPT

All at once, the woman dropped her water jar and ran off to tell everyone about the Man who knew everything about her and loved her still.

True Confession #3 “Come and meet a man at the well…He knows everything I’ve ever done.”

This was her confession (and mine too). As she shared her story, the people of her town came running to see Jesus. This is the power of our stories; our breakthroughs bring people to a place where they can see Jesus for themselves.

Undone. Finally her thirst was quenched. Her deepest need was satisfied. Soul-thirsty from a life drained dry, she drank deep of the Living Water. Filled to overflowing, she’d found the Source of true satisfaction. She’d tasted the sweetness of knowing the Savior. After a lifetime of tiring herself out by trying too hard, all of her searching brought her to the Well where she knew she’d forever be satisfied. She knew where to go and told others how to get there. More than being well-intentioned and having good intentions, we want to be Well-intentioned drinking from the Source of Life, Jesus.

With just one drink, we become the Well-Intentioned Woman.

When we become Well-Intentioned we realize who Jesus is for us and know we can’t do this life without Him. Remarkably, when the woman at the well shared her story, she became the first evangelist, winning an entire city to Jesus. One of the commentaries I read, suggested these scriptures imply the people streaming to the well looked like wheat ready to be harvested. How beautiful it would have been to see this go & tell moment.

Breakthrough for this woman brought the blessing of becoming who God meant her to be and an immediate reaping of the good works God had planned for her to do before the foundation of the world (Eph. 2:10). She was walking in her God-given destiny, remembered not for who she was, but for who she became when she met Christ. The Living Water changed her and the townspeople got a glimpse of what the scandalous grace of God does–it takes our true stories, turns them upside down and points people to truth of Jesus.

Ultimately, filters are false. The enemy would have us filtering our stories to rid ourselves of shame, but it’s the Truth sets us free. Sharing our stories of how we encountered Jesus in the middle of our messiest moments opens the door for others to experience the freedom we’ve found. This is what the Gospel is all about. 

“We no longer believe just because of what you told us, but now we’ve heard him ourselves and are convinced that he really is the true Savior of the world.” John 4:42 TPT

TIPS on being a WELL-INTENTIONED WOMAN:

• KNOW the SOURCE of SATISFACTION is JESUS
• ASK HARD QUESTIONS AND LISTEN TO TRUTH SPOKEN IN LOVE
• LOVE WELL & REMEMBER HOW YOU WERE ONCE SOUL-THIRSTY TOO
• STAY SOUL-THIRSTY LIKE JESUS
• STAY IN A PLACE OF REVIVAL BY KNOWING THE ANSWERS TO THESE 6 QUESTIONS:

1. WHERE TO GO- TO THE WELL & WITH INTENTION
2. WHO TO SEE- JESUS
3. WHAT TO ASK FOR- THE LIVING WATER (read this blog for more on living in the overflow)
4. WHY IT’S NEEDED- NOTHING ELSE SATISFIES & THERE’S KINGDOM WORK TO DO
5. WHEN TO GO- AS OFTEN AS NEEDED- DAILY, HOURLY, MINUTE-BY-MINUTE
6. HOW TO STAY REFRESHED- DRINK DEEP AND DRINK OFTEN of the LIVING WATER

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