"Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?" — John 4:29
When God first prompted me to write this post, I was a little shocked. Honestly, I felt unqualified to speak with the kind of authority He was asking of me and I still do. So, I prayed about what He wanted me to write, and the thought came clearly: Talk about your yearly theme.
My theme for this year has been John 4:29: "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?"
When I was praying about what the theme for the new year should be, back in December, I was trying to posture my heart to be more in line with God's will for my life. I can’t even remember what exactly led me there, but I was reading through the book of John, when I came to the story of the woman at the well, my heart was touched.
Are you familiar with her story?
Here was a woman who had gone to great lengths to stay away from people and was drawing water at a well in the middle of the day in the scorching heat in a desert climate.
If we truly reflect on this- as much as I love the heat I wouldn't want to be carrying heavy heavy jugs of water in the scorching heat in the middle of the day. It sounds like it would be exhausting and SO terribly hot. So, it causes one to wonder and reflect that the reason that the woman at the well was doing this was because she was an outcast to the members of her community. They probably publicly ridiculed her and made her to feel less than because of her sins, choices, and lifestyle.
And then here is this glorious part in the story- the woman at the well hadn't gone there to seek out Jesus but He specifically sought her out there.
Jesus went to Samaria to go to a woman who felt like an outcast, a reject, someone who was terribly broken and cast aside.
To society's culture Jesus shouldn't have even been conversing with the woman because of her class as being a Samaritan and Him being a Jew yet there He was with arms open wide ready to receive her and love her and accept her despite the brokenness, shame, grief, trauma, and sin she had endured. Jesus then invited her to learn from Him and follow Him.
And what I absolutely love and adore about this story is that she ran back to the town and people who had treated her like a public outcast and reject to testify of the Messiah.
But wait, that isn't even the best part of the story.
The best part is what can be found in John 4:39 ""Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’""
The power in those words. The power from the holy spirit. Wow Wow Wow!
This woman who once was so broken and felt utterly alone and tossed aside was sought out individually by the Messiah.
That’s the power of her story. That’s the power of her encounter with Jesus. And that’s the power of God using someone broken, someone outcast, someone dismissed by the world.
When God asked me to write this post, I kept thinking, But I’m not qualified. I feel like her—like the woman at the well. Rejected. Outcast. Deeply broken and tossed aside.
But, as I reflected on this story, I realized something: Often, it’s the broken who have more time alone—more space to hear God’s voice—because they aren’t as distracted by the voices of the world.
Because, often, they haven’t been accepted there.
I think God uses the broken because their stories are places where He can pour in redemption and restoration. I think God uses the broken because they know the kind of heartbreak that alters your life—and they are ready for a Savior who can rescue them from their path and rewrite their story.
Not long ago, I dislocated my knee. I prayed, deeply and sincerely, asking for God to remove the spirit of infirmity from my body. I believed He could. I still do. But instead of a miracle of immediate healing, I heard a gentle and loving no. And He showed me why.
Without going into too much detail, I felt God showing me how blessings would come through this setback. He began teaching me that being literally broken wasn’t a downfall—it was an opportunity for growth in a different kind of way than just healing in my knee.
And while that brought some comfort of the why I needed to lay in bed for 2 and a half weeks for healing- that feeling of broken and being unqualified lingers. I still feel like I can’t measure up.
But I’m starting to understand—this is exactly the kind of person God loves to use. There’s a quote from GotQuestions.org that sums this up beautifully:
“In this world, broken things are despised and thrown out. Anything we no longer need, we throw away. Damaged goods are rejected—and that includes people.
To us, broken things are worthless. But God can take what has been broken and remake it into something better—something He can use for His glory.
Only when we surrender to Christ can we be restored and transformed. Such surrender requires a brokenness on our part.” (What Does the Bible Say About Brokenness, GotQuestions.org – July 2025)
So, here’s what I’ve come to believe with all my heart:
God uses the broken. Not in spite of their brokenness, but because of it.
Because in brokenness, there’s room for healing. In weakness, there’s room for His strength. And in every cracked and imperfect story, there’s space for His love, healing and glory to shine through.
Just when I thought I was done with this post, God wanted to teach me one last thing to share with you.
God loves using the broken because they are ready to be loved and cared for by Him.
When God placed this thought on my mind, He also brought with it the story of the bum lamb. It's a story I can’t take credit for, but one I want to share, because it reflects the heart of God and His love for the broken and outcast so clearly. It’s the story of the bummer lamb.
Every once in a while, a ewe will give birth to a lamb and reject it. There are many reasons she may do this. But, once a ewe rejects one of her lambs, she will never change her mind. Even, if the lamb is returned to the ewe, the mother will kick the poor baby away.
These little lambs will hang their heads so low that it looks like something is wrong with their necks. Their spirit is broken.
These lambs are called "bummer lambs." Unless the shepherd intervenes, that lamb will die, rejected and alone. So, do you know what the shepherd does?
He brings the rejected lamb into his dwelling, feeds it by hand, and ensures its warmth near the fireplace. Wrapping it in blankets, he cradles it against his chest, allowing the lamb to sense his heartbeat. When the lamb gains sufficient strength, he reintegrates it into the field alongside the rest of the flock.
But that sheep never forgets how the shepherd cared for him when his mother rejected him. When the shepherd calls for the flock, guess who runs to him first?
That is right, the bummer sheep. He knows his voice intimately.
It is not that the bummer lamb is loved more, it just knows intimately the one who loves it.
It's not that it is loved more, it just believes it because it has experienced that love one on one.
So many of us are bummer lambs, rejected and broken. But Jesus is the good Shepherd. He cares for our every need and holds us close to His heart so we can hear His heartbeat.
We may be broken but we are deeply loved by the Shepherd.
~ Author Unknown / Dawnings
Isn't that story powerful? I couldn't even imagine that poor little baby being rejected by his momma- that's so sad. But also SO relatable. So many of us are bummer lambs, aren't we? I know I am. Rejected. Bruised. Weary. Broken. But God is the Good Shepherd. He doesn’t leave us behind. He cradles us close to His heart until we can stand again. He holds us long enough to hear His heartbeat. And He calls us His own and will use our brokenness and healing to testify of His glory.
So, come see a man who has told me everything I have ever done- could this be the Messiah?
