Hungry (Friday Devotional)

“Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to complete His work.””

- John 4:31-34

Have you ever been so focused on your work that you skipped a meal? Maybe it happened when you were a student and needed every last minute to finish a paper before its due date. Perhaps it was a more recent occurrence, when a deadline at work left you feeling like even a lunch at your desk would be 15 minutes wasted. Or maybe it happened the last time you hosted a big party or family gathering—between making sure everyone was having a good time and serving them food, you neglected your own appetite. Whatever the case, sometimes it’s possible to get so intensely focused that even something as fundamentally important as eating gets pushed to the back burner.

In John 4:31, the disciples seemed to be concerned Jesus was doing just that—neglecting his own needs for the sake of his ministry. “Rabbi, eat something,” they pleaded. But Jesus’s response puzzled them: “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” Seeing their bewilderment at that declaration, Jesus elaborated, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to complete His work.” Jesus, in other words, hungered for something richer and more satisfying than food—doing God’s will.

How closely do you resemble Jesus in that regard? Virtually every Christian recognizes the importance of doing God’s will, but the passion and the energy we are willing to give to that pursuit varies widely from person to person. For the busy, doing God’s will is a compartmentalized, scheduled part of the week—they think about God’s will on Sundays and the occasional Wednesday night, and that’s about it. For the flighty, doing God’s will may be something that occupies every waking thought—until the new passion project rolls around and it is tossed to the side. Even those perceived to be ‘super saints’—ministers, missionaries, Christian nonprofit workers, etc.— fall into the trap of making God’s will just another job requirement, something reserved for when they’re on the clock.

But the call of every Christian is for God’s will to be something that permeates every part of your life—it’s not just for church, but work, family, and community life; it’s not just for Sundays, but for all seven days of the week. As followers of Christ, we are called to imitate his single-minded focus on doing God’s will, to devote ourselves to serving the Lord in every aspect of life. So may you not just hope to do God’s will, not just approve of doing it—may you hunger to do God’s will.