“He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner…’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house… For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’” Luke 19:1-7,9-10
“He left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
“A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink…’ Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water…’
“Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.'” John 4:3-7,10,34
Journeying with Jesus, we never sense hurry or aimless wandering, but a measured serenity full of purpose. He was, in the three years of public ministry to which we are privy, intent on His Father’s will, tucking into each day all and only what His God ordained. Some days were packed with individual and crowd interactions layered with a plethora of emotion and reaction, many days passed in details we hardly know. Always He made time to pray, and always He was driven by His Father’s next right thing to do, unfettered and unhindered by any opposition. (Luke 5:16; 6:12-13)
Are we so focused? A too-detailed plan can get upended by interruption, and loose availability by wasteful indulgences or meaningless pleasures. How do we set our course? Where lie our compulsions? Do we begin well after commending our days to the Lord in prayer, then get yanked off course by criticism or disheartening obstacles, or lured away by glitzy distractions or whimsy? Would we yield to God every must and have to for His use and purpose? (2 Timothy 4:7)
When we turn both motive and motor over to God, He will tune our compulsions to His holy specifications. We learn to trust His divine direction and the fuel of His Spirit as we go about our days. Moments and hours offered to Him become significant and fruitful in the tasks, services, and interactions He supplies.
Lord, may I daily start by offering myself a living sacrifice, and end knowing I have done Your will, to Your pleasure and glory. (John 17:4; Romans 12:1-2)
As the rain and snow 