John 4:34 – My Food is to do His Will

“My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”      John 4:34

More than Jesus’s primary purpose on this earth, doing the Father’s will and finishing His work is Jesus’s source of nourishment, fuel, and sustenance. When Jesus is tempted by the Devil in the wilderness to turn stones into bread, after fasting for forty days and forty nights, Jesus responds, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God,” (Matthew 4:4). In His human flesh, of course Jesus had fundamental needs like food and water, but in these verses, we see that His deepest need and desire is to fulfill His purpose on this earth.

Jesus came to the world not to survive and get through it, not to live a rich full life with fun experiences and fond memories, but to die and grant life through His atoning death on the cross. Jesus’s life was about saving the lost, and He did not allow Himself to be distracted, even for one of the most basic fleshly needs, food.

Forty days and nights without food, and temptation from the Devil himself did not distract Jesus from His purpose. His well-meaning disciples trying to get Him to slow down and eat to take care of Himself did not distract from the opportunity to save the lost, (John 4:41). The threat of physical violence did not distract Him, “…Herod wants to kill you,’ [Jesus] replied, ‘Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal,” (Luke 13:31-32). Jesus did not let cultural expectations, traditions, or even religious laws around the Sabbath distract Him, “…should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day?” (Luke 13:16). Jesus models for us what it looks like to be fueled, strengthened, nourished, and sustained by living out the purpose for His life and living out the will of God.

So, what fuels us? What strengthens us? What nourishes us? What sustains us? If the answer to any of these questions is not first and foremost; God, we are missing something. Our hearts must mirror the faith, hope, and dependence of the Psalms, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me,” (Psalm: 28:7). “The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing,” (Psalm 23:1). “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust,” (Psalm 25:1). Let us not rely on our own strength and what the world would say is our nourishment. A healthy meal may nourish our body but our greater need is to consume God’s Word and do God’s will. Personal time or a vacation may provide rest and enjoyment but our greater need is to find our rest and enjoyment in God’s promises and in finishing the work that He has set for us to do. Jesus does not condemn the fundamental needs of life, He just understands that those needs pale in comparison to our need for Him and to do His will.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for coming to save us, for showing us how to live, and for lovingly leading us in the way You would have us go. Help us to trust in You and to rely on You for our strength, nourishment, and sustenance.