Jesus is full of surprises, and maybe we should be, too. For example, John 4 tells how He stopped at a well in Samaria as He was on His way to Galilee. For most Jewish people, Samaria was a place to avoid, filled with people to avoid. There, Jesus stops to speak to one of ‘those people’ – a woman marked by shame.  

Jesus begins with a simple request for water, but before long, He is speaking to her deepest need and revealing Himself as the Messiah. She runs back to town, proclaiming, ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did!’ The whole village rushes out to meet Jesus, and ‘many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony’ (John 4:39 ESV).

God has often moved in the margins, through unexpected people who are easily overlooked. He is still moving that way today, and He is giving us opportunities to join Him.

Recent studies by the Barna Group and others show a remarkable spiritual shift across the Western world. In the US and the UK, large numbers, especially among Gen Z and Millennials, say they want to talk about Jesus, explore the Bible or discuss their spiritual journey. Places where people once seemed closed are suddenly opening up to the gospel.  

We are seeing this with our own eyes in cities like New York, London and Tel Aviv. At a recent pastors’ gathering in Chicago, several commented that it feels like the early 1970s: when the Jesus Movement swept across America and, remarkably, when Jews for Jesus was born. Then, as now, revival didn’t begin among the elite, but among ordinary people hungry for something real. It seems that whenever the world grows weary of its own noise, the Spirit of God begins to stir.

Jesus still meets people at unexpected wells – coffee shops, college campuses, art studios, even online – and He still offers ‘living water’ that satisfies their deepest thirst.  

Maybe revival has never been about perfect plans or conditions, but about being open to divine interruptions. Jesus was on His way somewhere else when revival broke out in Samaria. What if He wants to do the same today, in our detours, in our discomfort, in the places we never planned to stop? If revival begins in unlikely places, maybe it also begins with unlikely people – you and me – choosing to speak out when the world is finally ready to listen.  

So where do we find revival? Anywhere and everywhere that the Spirit is moving. Please join me in praying for eyes to see and hearts that are ready to join Him wherever He leads.