THE REWARD 8.23.2026

August 24th, 2026

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Jesus had every reason, according to the culture of His day, to walk right past the Samaritan woman at the well. She was a Samaritan. She was a woman. She carried a complicated history. She was living with shame and rejection.
But Jesus didn't see a list of reasons to avoid her.

He saw a person who needed Him.

Jesus looked beyond her reputation, her mistakes, and the labels others had placed on her. He met her exactly where she was and offered her something she couldn't find anywhere else: living water.

That's important because we can easily make the same mistake the people around this woman made. We look at someone's past and decide what their future must be. We see their mistakes, their lifestyle, their reputation, or the things they've done, and we quietly decide, "They would never want Jesus."
But we aren't Jesus.

We don't know what God is already doing in someone's heart.

The woman at the well certainly wasn't someone most people would have expected to become an evangelist. She didn't have formal training. She didn't have years of Bible knowledge. She didn't have a carefully prepared message.
She simply encountered Jesus.

And then she went and told people about Him.

She left her water jar behind and ran back into town, telling people about the man who knew everything she had ever done. Her story wasn't complicated:
"Come and see."

That's evangelism.

You don't have to know every answer. You don't have to be a theologian. You don't have to have the perfect words.

You just need to know what Jesus has done in your life.

Jesus later told His disciples to open their eyes and look at the fields because they were already ripe for harvest. The same is true today. There are people around us who may be much closer to Jesus than we realize.

A coworker.

A neighbor.

A family member.

A friend.

The person sitting beside you at school.

The person you normally wouldn't think to invite.

God may already be working in their heart. Your job isn't to save them. That's Jesus' job.

Your job is to be faithful enough to start the conversation.

The woman at the well didn't know that her story would lead an entire town toward Jesus. She simply told people what she had experienced.
And perhaps that's the challenge for us this week:

Don't underestimate what God can do with your story.

The path Jesus has walked you through might become the very path someone else uses to find Him.

All you have to do is bring them to the well.

REFLECT |

Who is someone you might be tempted to write off because of their past or current circumstances?
What has Jesus personally done in your life that you could share with someone else?
What keeps you from talking about your faith more openly?
Who might God already be preparing for a conversation with you?

BIBLE VERSES

Key Verses are denoted with an *

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DAY 1 | HE SEES WHAT YOU COULD NEVER

It is easy to look at someone and see only their past. We see the mistakes, the reputation, the label. But Jesus sees something entirely different. When He met the woman at the well, He did not see a lost cause. He saw someone ready to meet her Savior. That changes everything about how we should view the people around us. The coworker who seems closed off. The neighbor who never waves back. The family member who has walked away from faith. We tend to write people off based on what we can see. Jesus looks deeper. He saw a Samaritan woman in a culture full of barriers, and He chose to stop anyway. He initiated the conversation. He pursued her with grace before she even knew she needed it. That is who Jesus is, and that is the lens He invites us to borrow when we look at the people in our lives. You do not have to figure out who is "worth" reaching. That is not your job. Your job is simply to see people the way Jesus does, with compassion, with hope, and with the belief that no one is too far gone for His grace.

BIBLE VERSE |
"Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.'" - John 4:10

REFLECTION QUESTION |
Is there someone in your life you have quietly written off? What might change if you started seeing them the way Jesus does?

QUOTE |
"Jesus sees people very differently. He doesn't just see what you've been. He sees what his grace can make you."

PRAYER |
Lord, give me eyes to see the people around me the way You see them. Help me to look past labels and history, and to believe that Your grace is bigger than anything I can see. Amen.

DAY 2 | YOU JUST HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HE'S DONE FOR YOU

After her encounter with Jesus, the woman at the well did not sit down and study for weeks before telling anyone. She left her water jar right there and ran. She told everyone she could find about the man who knew her whole story and loved her anyway. She had no training. No script. No perfect words. She simply shared what happened to her, and people believed. That is the kind of faith-sharing that feels accessible, because it is. You do not need a theology degree or a memorized presentation. You just need your story. What was your life like before Jesus? What did He do? How has He changed you? Those three things are more powerful than you realize, because they are true, they are yours, and no one can argue with them. Your story is not too ordinary. It is not too messy. In fact, the messier it is, the more someone else might see themselves in it. God did not give you your story just for you. He gave it to you so that someone else could find their way through it. You are more ready than you think. Start with what you know.

BIBLE VERSE |
"Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?'" - John 4:28-29

REFLECTION QUESTION |
When is the last time you told someone, in your own words, what Jesus has done for you?

QUOTE |
"You don't have to know everything to tell somebody about Jesus. You just have to know what Jesus has done for you, plain and simple."

PRAYER |
Jesus, thank You for the story You have written in my life. Give me the courage to share it simply and honestly with someone who needs to hear it. Amen.

DAY 3 | BRING THEM TO THE WELL

There is a temptation to feel like sharing your faith means you have to close the deal. You have to say the right thing, make the perfect argument, and walk away knowing someone made a decision. But that is not actually your role. You cannot change someone's heart. You cannot make someone believe. That work belongs to Jesus alone. Your role is simpler and, honestly, a lot more freeing. You bring them to the well. You invite. You share your story. You love them well. You introduce them to Jesus through the way you live and the words you speak. Then you trust Him to do what only He can do. The woman at the well did exactly that. She ran back to her town and said, "Come, see a man." She did not have all the answers. She just pointed people toward Jesus, and He did the rest. Many believed because of her. You are not responsible for the outcome. You are responsible for the invitation. That takes so much pressure off, and it puts the focus back where it belongs. Be faithful with what you can do, and trust Jesus with what only He can do.

BIBLE VERSE |
"Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me everything I ever did.'" - John 4:39

REFLECTION QUESTION |
In what area of your life are you trying to do God's job instead of simply being faithful with your part?

QUOTE |
"You can't change someone's heart. You can't make someone believe. You can't even make someone follow Jesus. But you can bring them to the well."

PRAYER |
Father, help me to trust You with the outcomes and to be faithful with the invitations. Remind me that my job is to bring people to You, and Your job is to change their hearts. Amen.

DAY 4 | GOD WAS ALREADY THERE BEFORE YOU ARRIVED

One of the most encouraging truths about sharing your faith is this: you are rarely the first one on the scene. God is almost always already at work in someone's life long before you show up. The woman at the well did not come to Jesus with a prepared heart. She came to draw water. But God had been working. Her life, her longing, her questions, all of it had been quietly preparing her for that moment at the well. Jesus simply stepped into what the Father was already doing. The same is true for the people in your life. That friend who seems far from God may be asking questions you do not even know about. That family member who walked away may be closer to coming home than they appear. God is at work in ways you cannot see. This means your conversation, your invitation, your simple act of sharing your story might be exactly the moment someone has been waiting for. You might be the one person God places in the right spot at the right time. Not because you are perfect, but because you were willing. Do not underestimate the moment you are in. Open your eyes. The fields are ready.

BIBLE VERSE |
"Don't you have a saying, 'It's still four months until harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." - John 4:35

REFLECTION QUESTION |
Who in your life might God already be preparing, and what is one small step you could take this week to be part of what He is doing?

QUOTE |
"God is often already at work in someone's life long before we arrive."

PRAYER |
Lord, open my eyes to see what You are already doing around me. Give me the courage to step into those moments and trust that You have gone before me. Amen.

DAY 5 | THE GREATEST REWARD IS WATCHING OTHERS FIND JESUS

There is something breathtaking about reaching a personal milestone. A goal achieved, a prayer answered, a moment you worked toward for years. But there is a different kind of joy, deeper and longer lasting, that comes when you watch someone else find what you have found. When the woman at the well ran back to her town and people came to meet Jesus, something remarkable happened. Her encounter became their beginning. Her story opened a door that changed an entire community. She did not keep what she found to herself, and because of that, others found it too. Faith was never meant to be a private experience. It was always meant to be shared. The path God led you through, the hard seasons, the moments of grace, the turning points, those are not just your story. They are a trail marker for someone else who is still trying to find their way. The greatest reward is not arriving at a destination alone. It is turning around, finding someone who has never experienced God's grace, and saying, come with me. I know the way. You have something worth sharing. Someone in your life is waiting for you to say something. Be faithful. Be willing. Watch what God does.

BIBLE VERSE |
"Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me everything I ever did.'" - John 4:39

REFLECTION QUESTION |
How has your own journey with Jesus become a story that could give someone else hope, and who specifically comes to mind when you think about sharing it?

QUOTE |
"The greatest reward is truly seeing others find Jesus. And the greatest reward isn't reaching the destination yourself. It's watching others discover Jesus because you were willing to follow Him."

PRAYER |
Jesus, thank You for the grace You have shown me. Help me to hold it loosely and share it freely, so that others can experience what I have found in You. Amen.

ACTION STEP

This week, identify one person in your life who does not yet know Jesus. Write their name down, commit to praying for them every day, and look for one natural opportunity to share something Jesus has done in your life. You do not need a script or a theology degree. You just need your story. If you already put a name on the board at church, let this week be the week you take one intentional step toward that person.

PRAYER

Lord, Thank You for the reminder that You see every one of us not as we have been but as what Your grace can make us. Just as You saw the Samaritan woman and pursued her with living water, You pursue each of us with that same relentless love. Give us the courage to go back down the mountain and bring someone with us. Help us to open our eyes to the harvest that is already around us, to share our stories without fear, and to trust You with the results. We bring before You now the names of those we are praying for, and we ask that You prepare their hearts even before we arrive. May we be faithful to say come and see. In Jesus' name, amen.

BIBLE APP PLANS

What's Holding You Back?
6 Days – Madeleine Dayzel
What's holding you back from walking in your authority and identity in Christ? What's holding you back from allowing God to use you to the fullness of your created purpose? Using the story of the Samaritan women at the well, Madz will take you on a journey of learning some practical tools and insights to help you break fear and insecurity mindsets and behaviors that hold you back.

5 Days - YouVersion
When we become followers of Jesus, we begin a lifelong journey of growth. A part of growing in our faith is learning how to share the good news about Jesus with other people. In this 5-day Plan, we’ll learn how to share the hope and peace we have in Christ—and how that could change someone's life!

4 Days - Parkview Christian Church
Reputation. It’s a powerful word and oftentimes a very powerful piece in our lives. What is your reputation? Can reputations change? How does my reputation effect those around me? We’re going to dive in and answer these questions while walking through the story of Paul, a guy who had a “big reputation”.