Why Do We Keep Going Back?

"Jesus said to her, 'Go, call your husband, and come here.' The woman answered him, 'I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, 'You are right in saying, "I have no husband"; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.’" - John 4:16-18

The woman at the well, the well-known story we discussed yesterday, wasn’t just coming back for water. Her deeper struggle was her history with men. Relationship after relationship. Trying to fill something in her heart that kept coming up empty. Jesus saw right through it. Not to shame her, but to reveal the real thirst she was chasing.

We may not have the same story, but we all have our own version of that well. We keep going back to the thing we think will finally satisfy us. Whether it is attention, success, approval, comfort, or something else entirely. We tell ourselves, this time will be different. This time it will finally fill the gap. But every single time, we end up just as thirsty as before.

Why do we keep doing it? Because at the core, we are wired to long for something bigger than this world can offer. Deep down, we crave love, purpose, identity, and worth. But instead of running straight to the Source, we settle for quick fixes that can never fully meet those needs.

The woman at the well was stuck in a cycle. Relationship after relationship, hoping each new one would heal the ache left by the last. It wasn’t just about men, it was about her longing to feel seen, valued, and whole. But no human love could give her what only God can.

We do the same thing. We pursue things that seem like they will satisfy, only to find they never do. And the temptation is always there to go back, because it’s familiar. Even if it’s empty, it’s what we know. But Jesus came to break that cycle.

When He met the woman, He didn’t offer her a better relationship. He offered her Himself. Living water. The only thing that could actually satisfy the thirst she had been chasing her whole life.

What well are you tempted to keep going back to? What do you keep thinking will fill you up but always leaves you dry? Jesus is inviting you to stop running in circles and start drinking from the only well that satisfies. Let Him fill the deep places no one and nothing else ever can.