Help #7—Unusual Help

Jesus said to his disciples, “I have food to eat that you do not know about. … My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.” John 4:32–34

At the end of a long day, when we are bone-weary, frustrated, discouraged, and beat, God’s deliverance often comes in the form of more work. But it’s not just any work. It’s not just more scutwork, not busy-work, not just more activity. The work which revives, rejuvenates, and restores us is work that fills the deepest reservoirs of our souls. It is work that accords with our desire to know Christ and to make him known. It is work that fans the flame of worship. It is work that doubles our joy because we are extending our joy to another person. Jesus was fatigued when he sat down by Jacob’s well. While the disciples were away in the middle of the day trying to find bread to feed Jesus’ body, the Father spread a banquet of ministry before his Messiah. By bringing the woman who needed compassion and was ready to accept his message, God rescued Jesus and kept him from falling into the morass of self-pity. Though he deserved the woman’s worship, he offered himself as the source of her eternal well-being. He assuaged his hunger by feeding the hungry. Now he will also do this for us. But like Jesus, we must be ready to eat this unusual food. We must train the taste buds of our hearts to long for the satisfaction ministry provides.

Lord Jesus, I want the hunger for God’s will that moved you to welcome ministry as the means to lift the fatigue off your shoulders and restore the strength of your joy.