12-19-2025 PART 3: Are You Hungry Yet? Feeding on the Will of God

Section 1

This passage from John 4 unfolds immediately after the encounter with the woman at the well and reveals a striking truth about what sustains Jesus. While the disciples are concerned about His physical hunger, Jesus redirects their thinking by declaring that He has food they do not understand. He explains that His nourishment comes from doing the will of the One who sent Him and completing that work. This echoes His response to temptation in the wilderness, where He affirmed that life is sustained not merely by bread, but by every word that proceeds from God. The teaching presses a challenging point: spiritual vitality is not maintained by comfort or ease, but by obedience and purpose. Doing God’s will is not an accessory to life in Christ; it is meant to be the sustaining force that keeps believers moving forward.

Section 2

Jesus’ words confront the idea that Christianity is meant to produce a passive or complacent life. Scripture consistently presents God’s will as something to be actively pursued, embraced, and finished. Gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving are part of that will, but they are not the entirety of it. Each believer has a role, a calling, and a purpose within the body of Christ, and discovering that purpose requires intentional time with God. Only God can reveal His specific will for a person’s life, which is why prayer, Scripture, fellowship, stillness, and engagement with God’s work are essential. As believers draw near to God through these means, clarity follows. God’s will becomes not a burden, but nourishment—something that strengthens endurance and fuels perseverance to the end.

Section 3

The teaching concludes by addressing faith, signs, and belief through Jesus’ interaction with the royal official. Jesus clarifies that signs and wonders are not evil, but they were never meant to replace faith. The problem arises when belief is conditioned upon seeing proof first. God has chosen faith as the means by which people connect with Him, and faith operates by believing first and then seeing. The official trusted Jesus’ word without visible evidence, and that faith was honored. This stands in contrast to a demand for constant confirmation. God desires a people who take Him at His word, trusting His character and promises. True faith does not wait for reassurance before obedience; it steps forward believing, and in that belief, experiences the power and faithfulness of God.