Tired? Restless? Hungry?
As soon as my brother gets into the passenger seat of ANY car, he falls asleep within minutes and wakes up as he arrives. He's done this since he was a kid and it's barely changed now. For some reason, my brother always needs rest on the way to a destination. Jesus needed "rest" too.
One day, on a long commute to a place called Galilee (by foot or by donkey), Jesus got very tired and hungry. So much so that He stopped to rest by a well in a city called Samaria. The Bible says that Jesus, a Jew, "HAD to pass through Samaria," (John 4:4) a route that Jews generally avoided. In fact, most Jews chose to travel on an uncomfortable hot desert road, about twice the distance to Galilee, JUST to avoid Samaritan people. There was always a boat option too, so He didn't HAVE to pass there at all, but He was hungry and in need of rest.
When He finally got to Samaria, He rested a while at a well but still neither ate nor drank.
Strange.
Instead, Jesus started conversing with a Samaritan woman -- someone He should not have been talking to in the first place because of her nationality and gender! What He said to her was life-changing and it caused her to leave the very thing she came for, water, to tell everyone in her town to come meet Him!
While the people were on their way, His disciples urged Him to eat. Still, Jesus did not. In fact, His response was quite unusual. He told them that He had food already. The truth is, Jesus already ate! While His disciples went and ate physically, Jesus’ rest stop in Samaria was to be restored spiritually. He "ate" when He ministered, taught, and poured life and hope back into this woman. He became full when the woman received joy and enlightenment of who He was and what He provides. He was satisfied when He chose to complete His special purpose. Jesus was tired because of the commute, but HAD to stop in Samaria to get revitalized. The disciples didn't understand that when Jesus fulfilled purpose, it made him completely full!
Today I encourage you to get refueled too. Have you been feeling empty, uncomfortable, unfulfilled? Have you been "doing life" without passion? Working at your 9-5 to simply save up for retirement? This may be the reason: you're not completing your special purpose. Spend time with God to discover what you have been called to do or the strength you need to pursue it! Your purpose is not just the BIG thing like your career, just like Jesus’ only purpose wasn’t to die for us. Purpose includes the little things, the pit stops we make on the way to our destination, so fullness may occur when you feed the homeless, join an activist group, etc. When you do, you, like Jesus, will no longer feel weary or tiresome, but full from purpose.
“Jesus said to them, "My food (nourishment) is to do the will (special purpose) of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish (finish the work) His work." John 4:34
Smitten by Him, Michelle Nicole
