John 4:1-42 The Appointment

Jesus had a divine appointment to meet the Samaritan woman at the well.  My commentary described her as having shallow soil spiritually, by the fact that she wanted the living water He described, but she didn’t understand what it was.  “The only way to prepare the soil of the heart for the seed is to plow it up with conviction.  That was why Jesus told her to go get her husband.  He forced her to admit her sin.  There can be no conversion without conviction.  There must first be conviction and repentance, and then there can be saving faith.  Jesus had aroused her mind and stirred her emotions, but He also had to touch her conscience, and that meant dealing with her sin.”

She tried to detour the conversation rather than talk about her sin, as we all would.  But as He kept talking to her, eventually she said, “I know that Messiah is coming.”  That’s when He made His startling announcement:  “I am He – I, the One talking to you.”

That’s all she needed, and she set off for the very town the disciples had just returned from.  They’d only bought their meal there, but she went back there to witness and evangelize.

After she left for town, Jesus told the disciples that “doing the Father’s will – in this case, leading the woman to salvation – was true nourishment for His soul,” my commentary said.  It continued, “Seek your life’s nourishment in your life’s work.  The will of God ought to be a source of strength and satisfaction to the child of God … If what we are doing tears us down instead of builds us up, then we may well question whether it is the will of God for us … It takes faith to sow the seed, and we must do it even when the circumstances look discouraging … There is no competition in the Lord’s harvest.  Each of us has an assigned task and we are all a part of each other’s labors … Those who sow may not see the harvest, but those who reap will see it and give thanks for the faithful labors of the sowers.”

Father, help me to know what You would have me doing.  I want to be pursuing Your will and Your plan for my life and nothing else.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford