Jesus Was Weary

Jesus Was Weary

5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

John 4:5-6

The story of the woman at the well is one of the most well-known within the gospels. Here we have Jesus speaking to a woman by themselves, breaking many taboos and being able to reach an entire city because of it. There are so many lessons that one can build from the story but too often these introductory verses are passed over.

What I love about these two verses is that it seems to be completely void of purpose when talking about evangelism. It appears to just be a place that Jesus had to walk through to get to where he actually wanted to be. I love the fact that it says that he stopped because he was weary. Jesus was tired of walking and thirsty from his trip. As far as we know within the actual words of the scriptures, this is the only reason he stopped. What would have been in Jesus had just decided to keep going? What would have happened if the disciples had stayed with him and not gone into town? Of course God knows all things, but the story is very much set up as if it was just pure chance that Jesus and the woman met.

Have you ever had similar experienced within your ministry? Are you sometimes delayed or deviated from a plan that you have and then get nervous because things aren’t falling into place? Perhaps the plane was delayed or the car broke down. Maybe the store was closed or the person you were meeting cancelled in the very last minute.

Any of those situations can lead to frustration. We feel like we are failing in our mission because things are going according to our plans. But that just might be the issue. Our plans are rarely God’s plans. Perhaps that broken car was exactly what needed to happen.

Perhaps that broken car leads to a conversation with the Uber driver or the delayed flight creates a conversation with the other traveler beside you. Are we willing to deviate from our plans and join the plan that God is creating around us in real time?

Jesus was weary. I know that feeling and I’m sure you all do too. But that doesn’t have to be a negative in our lives. Sometimes it’s good to stop and rest. Sometimes that’s exactly what God wants us to do and actually has a hidden blessing in that time of rest.

Let’s have faith that God is in control of those very times when it seems that control is nowhere to be found.

Blessings
Pr. Steven Couto