Scripture to read: John 4:4-34
This story in John 4 of the Samaritan woman at the well gives us tremendous insight into the urgency of Jesus. For most of us, we think of urgency as the anxiety-producing, panic-inducing, fast-paced, “hurry up because we have 10 more things to do” way of life. It stresses us out, keeps us on the run, and eventually wears us down completely. There’s no flexibility, and any deviation causes our blood pressure and frustrations to increase. We get so focused on what we’ve deemed to be the urgent tasks at-hand that we go through our day(s) in a complete blur, and we certainly didn’t notice anyone else around us. After all, we’ve got more urgent things to do than we have time to get them done. At the end of the day, we come home to go to bed only to find that our exhausted minds are still somehow able to race and run through all of the things we’ve labeled urgent that are still to be done tomorrow…and the next day…and the day after that. To top it all off, we are continually left with the sense that we haven’t really accomplished much and can find ourselves unfulfilled.
But Jesus shows us that the urgency He’s called us to looks far different when it’s viewed through a Kingdom-focused, mission-minded lens. Here are 3 things we can learn from Jesus’ example in this text.
- He took another route
In verse 4, it said Jesus had to go through Samaria. This can be so easily overlooked if we don’t know a little background. Jews and Samaritans hated each other and did not associate with each other. Jews would travel around Samaria to avoid it, and the disciples wouldn’t have been any different. So, Jesus had to go to Samaria not because it was the way, but because He was being obedient to the will of His Father. Did it make the journey more complicated? Yes. Did it cause the disciples to question, murmur, and complain? Probably. Did it mean that plans had to be changed, timelines rearranged, and others down the road were impacted? My guess is most definitely. But Jesus shows us that He was flexible and willing to make the sacrifice for the truly urgent because He had an eternal focus.
- He talked to someone who really needed it
When Jesus got into town, the disciples went off to go find food. This left Jesus alone for a while at the well. And who approaches? A Samaritan woman who is looked down upon by others in her community. This may explain why she was at the well during the day when nobody else was around. But Jesus, who didn’t go try to find food and who didn’t try to push through His tiredness just to complete the journey and move on to the next speaking engagement was there and saw her. I mean, really saw her. He was physically present with her, but emotionally and relationally present, too. He actually listened and heard what she had to say. Jesus shows us here that His urgency isn’t distracted by all of the other things still to be done, but instead is present in the moment, full of grace, and sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
- He skipped lunch
The text tells us that Jesus was tired from the journey, they arrived in town at noon, and the disciples went off to go find food for everyone. I think it’s safe to make the assumption that Jesus was hungry. But Jesus didn’t go with the disciples to pick out his favorite value meal. This wasn’t because He didn’t have time to slow down. This wasn’t because He got so busy that He didn’t realize what time it was. He didn’t skip lunch to meet a deadline or because He had to get the disciples to basketball practice later that night. Instead, Jesus endured some temporary discomfort because He recognized He was smack dab in the middle of a divine moment. A holy opportunity to do the very thing He was sent to do was right in front of Him. It was this greater purpose that would sustain Him. The urgency of being on mission superseded the hunger pangs He was experiencing that afternoon. This is why Jesus responded the way He did in verse 34 when the disciples returned with food in hand: “’My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work’”. The urgency of being in line with the will and purposes of God brought about a fulfillment that a meal could never provide.
How might you begin to un-blur the line between busyness and urgency (as Jesus defines it)? How are you discerning Jesus’ plan for your day? Have you asked the Lord to help you see what’s truly urgent in your life and where you might need to make room for the things of greater purpose He has for you? During this 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, may the Holy Spirit lead you to put down your old busyness and embrace a new urgency…the urgency of Jesus.