📊 John 4:34 | Obedience Before Outcomes

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Happy Tuesday, everyone!

If you missed yesterday’s introduction to John, you can find it here! 

Today, we’re narrowing in on this one moment in John 4, when Jesus says these words right after meeting a Samaritan woman at a well, and everything He says suddenly makes perfect sense.

In today’s email…

• 💦 The power of living water

• 🏃‍♂️ The man who would not stop

• 📊 Trivia to see if you’re reading closely

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MEMORIZE 🧠 

_____ said to them, “__ ____ is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish ___ ____.”

John 4:34

CONTEXT 📕 

John 4 is the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. It’s a moment filled with surprise, tension, and a whole lot of grace.

The chapter begins with Jesus traveling through Samaria, a place Jewish people usually avoided due to deep-seated ethnic and religious tensions between Jews and Samaritans.

Jesus is tired and thirsty, so he sits down at a well in the heat of the day.

A woman comes to draw water alone, which was a sign that she was a social outcast (otherwise, she wouldn’t be drawing water at the hottest part of the day alone). And Jesus begins a conversation that changes her life.

He talks about living water — a kind of water that doesn’t run out, one that brings eternal life. She asks him some theological questions at the heart of the conflict between Jews and Samaritans.

At first, she’s confused. Then amazed. Then things change.

By the time the disciples return from buying food, they find Jesus talking with this woman (which shocked them). And then she runs back to her town to tell everyone about Him.

That’s when they say to Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.” And He replies with this seemingly strange line:

They think He’s talking about physical food. But Jesus isn’t hungry for food. He’s hungry to do what He came to do: reveal Himself to those who need Him most.

That’s why shortly after, He says our memory verse: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me.”

These words come right after offering the woman living water and right before the Samaritans start believing in Him. It’s like a bridge between a private moment of transformation and a public moment of revival.

This is Jesus’ rhythm: obedience before outcome. He’s satisfied not because of the results but because He’s aligned with the Father’s purpose.

If every word from Jesus matters, this one tells us something huge: His deepest satisfaction wasn’t in flashy miracles or large crowds. It was in doing the will of God, even when no one else understood it.

APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃‍♂️ 

In 1968, a runner named John Stephen Akhwari represented Tanzania in the Olympic marathon.

Midway through the race, he fell hard, dislocating his knee and injuring his shoulder. Most assumed he would quit. But hours after the winners had finished and the stadium lights dimmed, Akhwari limped into the arena and crossed the finish line, the last man to complete the race.

When asked why he hadn’t stopped, he said, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish it.”

Jesus wasn’t satisfied with the applause of crowds or the comfort of rest. His “food” was finishing the work His Father gave Him to do.

Today, follow His example. What has God called you to finish — even if no one’s watching?

• A conversation you’ve been avoiding?

• A commitment that’s grown tiring?

• A habit that’s half-hearted?

Don’t stop halfway. Do the will of the One who sent you

🙏 Pray

Father, give me the strength to keep doing Your will, even when it’s hard or unseen. Help me find joy in simply doing and finishing what You’ve called me to do. Amen.

TOGETHER WITH VOICE OF THE MARTYRS

Abeba's family worshiped a live cobra that lived in their home.

Growing up in central Ethiopia, she watched her parents bow before the serpent, offering it milk and food. But the cobra did not bless their family.

Instead, Abeba’s mother, father and her three younger siblings died at various times under mysterious circumstances. She blamed the cobra’s spirit for their deaths.

Fearing she'd be next, Abeba ran away. The night before visiting a church, she dreamed of a man offering her a palm branch and a road full of light.

At the church, the Christians welcomed her warmly, prayed for her, and cast out demons. Everything changed.

But when she told her husband that she would not leave Christ, her husband threatened her with a machete. Then, her employer had her arrested and while she was in jail, the police chief spat on her.

So Abeba knelt in the filthy latrine to pray: "Jesus, you are my identity... please show yourself." That same evening, something extraordinary happened.

Click below to read what happened next!

TRIVIA 📊 

Click one of the answers below. Let’s see how you do…

ANSWER KEY ✅ 

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

John 4:34