“I have food to eat of which you do not know”. John 4:32
“What time is tea going to be?” is a regular question in our house. Perhaps even more frustrating is “What are we having for tea?” Particularly at 8am when we have only just finished breakfast. I don’t know about you but I feel that the subject of food can easily take a lot of our attention between shopping, preparing, cooking and cleaning up! Food is a central part of everyday life. It’s one of our most basic needs and it reminds us of our humanity. We need to take time out, we need to stop and eat, we need to replenish ourselves in order to survive and perform at our best.
Jesus although fully God took on the form of man when he walked on the earth. He would have experienced tiredness, hunger and thirst just like we do. That is why we see the disciples coming to him in John 4 and urging him to eat. They had all gone into the town in Samaria to get food while Jesus had stayed at the well. However, Jesus answers them with a remark that they do not understand. ‘I have food to eat of which you do not know’. John 4:32 The disciples thought at first that Jesus was talking about having eaten in their absence and they wondered how that was possible as there were no shops close by. Yet, the food Jesus was talking about was not physical food. You see Jesus was fed when he did the will of the Father. What Jesus was showing them was that there was a deeper hunger that only our Father can satisfy. When we eat physically we are satisfied but quickly need to feed again. But the Lord can feed us in our spirits and that comes not by taking from others but by giving to them.
This often doesn’t make sense to our carnal minds. how can we be replenished if we give away? The fact is that it is God who created us, he made us with a unique design, we are made in his image and when we follow his ways we will find life, peace and joy. You see we are created to be a blessing. We are image bearers and when we operate in keeping with our true nature we will find purpose and walk into our destiny. So many of us are looking to fill the deepest hunger in our hearts and we allow our focus and attention to be on ourselves but when we keep our eyes on the Father and allow the Spirit of Jesus to lead and guide us everyday we will find that he puts many opportunities in our paths to look beyond ourselves and pour his love into those around us. This may require us at times to forfeit some of our immediate physical needs or even endure some inconvenience and disruption to our routines but when we allow for him to step in and shake us out of our comfort zones we will find we have encounters that require us to draw from the living water that is within. In fact this living water is described by Jesus as “ a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” His Holy Spirit is a life giving source within. Whenever we look to refresh others the word tells us that, “He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25
It’s the way of the upside down kingdom that Jesus brought to this world. When we lose our lives we find them. When we give away we receive greater blessing. Today Jesus wants to open your eyes to new opportunities where you can sow love, hope and peace into the people in your world. You might not even feel like you have that much yourself but remember when you take the little that you have the Lord will multiply it and you will find there is enough for everyone and rather than feeling depleted you will have had your fill.
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Unshakeable Hope Series – Exchange Church Belfast 2021