Nourished by Doing the Father’s Will

Oct 11, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Coats for the Cold, Nourishment for the Soul

A teacher’s desperate need for coats became Craig’s holy invitation. When Jesus followers keep their eyes open to practical needs around them, ordinary moments become sacred opportunities. Just as a coat warms the body, obeying God’s call warms the soul. Craig didn’t wait for a grand platform – he saw jackets piled on a counter and acted. The kingdom grows when we respond to what’s right in front of us. [26:23]

“I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you naked and clothe you, or sick and look after you?” The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:36, 37, 40 NIV)

Reflection: What “coat drive moment” has God placed in your path this week – a tangible need you’re uniquely positioned to meet? How might responding nourish your soul as much as it serves others?

Day 2: Gathering at the Well of Weariness

Miss Joellen didn’t wait for energy or ideal circumstances to minister. She gathered weary saints in a senior community, proving exhaustion and faithfulness can coexist. Like Jesus at Jacob’s well, our tiredness becomes holy ground when we prioritize presence over perfection. Spiritual nourishment comes not from waiting until we’re rested, but from obeying while we’re ragged. [27:14]

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:9-10 NIV)

Reflection: Where has weariness made you hesitant to serve? What small act of love could you offer this week – not despite your fatigue, but as an offering through it?

Day 3: Nourishment in Obedience, Not Duty

Jesus redefined sustenance at Jacob’s well. He wasn’t fueled by obligation but by the electric joy of alignment with the Father. Like choosing pimento cheese during stress versus soul-filling obedience, we daily decide between empty calories and eternal nourishment. The difference lies not in the action, but in the heart’s posture behind it. [46:00]

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

Reflection: Where have you been serving out of duty rather than delight? What would it look like to approach one responsibility today as soul-food rather than soul-drain?

Day 4: Fields Ripe Where You Are Planted

The disciples missed the harvest growing at their feet while focused on distant horizons. Jesus redirects their gaze to the Samaritan woman’s transformed life – proof that mission fields aren’t geography but people. Our “interruptions” – the coworker’s questions, the neighbor’s crisis, the child’s curiosity – are divinely planted harvests. [54:00]

“Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” (John 4:35 NIV)

Reflection: What harvest have you been overlooking because it’s growing in familiar soil? How could you lean into one “interruption” today as holy work?

Day 5: Worn-Out Wells and Holy Encounters

God specializes in meeting people at broken wells – the exhausted Messiah, the shamed woman, the grieving Craig, the isolated Miss Joellen. Our weariness and wounds don’t disqualify us from divine appointments. They position us to receive grace that hydrates parched souls. The well of obedience flows deepest when dug through cracked hands. [59:19]

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18 NIV)

Reflection: What cracked place in your life feels too damaged for God’s use? How might He want to transform that very weakness into a wellspring for others?

Sermon Summary

Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well while tired, hungry, and worn out, yet John shows that this very encounter is the Father’s will being done. Jesus does not treat this woman as a problem to avoid or a boundary not to cross. Grace and truth meet her right in the middle of her shame, her complicated past, and her lonely walk to the well at noon. Christ came to save the whole world, not merely people who have it together or belong to the right group.

Jesus tells the disciples, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” Food here is more than something on a plate. It is nourishment. It is strength. It is the thing that sustains a soul when life is hard. Jesus does not call the Father’s will a duty to check off or a job done to earn a reward. Obedience itself is the blessing. Doing the Father’s will is the main course.

The Father’s will gives every believer a clear direction: love God with all the heart, soul, and mind; love neighbors selflessly; and make disciples where God has placed them. Specific callings matter, whether evangelism, missions, teaching, parenting, caregiving, or work in the marketplace. But the great commandment and the great commission remain God’s will at all times, in every place and season.

Jesus also lifts His eyes toward the fields that are ripe for harvest. The Samaritan woman’s neighbors are already coming toward Him, and Christ tells the disciples not to squander the harvest standing right in front of them. Ministry is often in the interruptions: a neighbor across the street, a coworker asking hard questions, a child at home, or a friend carrying pain. God brings people close, and faithful disciples plant seeds of grace and truth even when they cannot see the harvest.

Jesus proves that physical exhaustion does not mean someone has wandered outside God’s will. Christ is bone tired at the well, but spiritually fulfilled as He does the work He was sent to do. The Holy Spirit strengthens tired people for one more step of faithful obedience. Jesus meets people in valleys, at wells, in grief, sickness, shame, and weariness, and He gives nourishment and peace to those who set their gaze on the Father’s will.

Key Takeaways

1. Obedience is the blessing itself Jesus does not describe the Father’s will as a burden endured until better things arrive. His food is doing the work the Father sent Him to do. Obedience nourishes the soul because it places life back in its proper center: God’s love, God’s purpose, and God’s presence. [48:12]
2. Empty things cannot feed the soul Junk food may calm a stressed body for a moment, but it cannot provide real nourishment. The same is true of the things people reach for when hearts are restless, lonely, or tired. The Father’s will gives a deeper strength that pleasure, control, comfort, and self-directed living cannot supply. [46:40]
3. Good tired can be holy Jesus is physically exhausted at the well, yet the Father’s work strengthens Him. Parenting, caregiving, serving a hurting neighbor, and carrying another person’s burden can leave a person tired in body but full in spirit. Physical weariness is not always a warning sign; sometimes it is evidence of faithful love. [50:34]
4. The harvest stands right nearby Jesus tells His disciples to open their eyes because the fields are already ripe. God often places gospel opportunities inside ordinary interruptions and familiar relationships. Faithfulness means planting seeds of grace and truth without demanding control over when or how God brings the harvest. [53:07]
5. Jesus meets people in the valley Jesus meets the Samaritan woman in shame and meets the disciples while weary. Hard seasons do not disqualify anyone from His presence or His work. The Holy Spirit gives strength for one more step, then another, until every faithful step leads home. [57:55]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[23:49] - Honoring Craig Through the Coat Drive
[27:14] - Seeing Needs and Serving Others
[28:13] - Soul Food or Empty Calories
[29:45] - Jesus’ Food Is the Father’s Will
[31:12] - Reading John 4:27-38
[34:00] - Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
[36:58] - What Is the Father’s Will?
[39:16] - The Great Commandment and Commission
[41:40] - Food That the Disciples Did Not Know
[44:39] - Obedience as Spiritual Nourishment
[48:59] - Good Tired in the Center of God’s Will
[53:07] - Open Your Eyes to the Harvest
[56:26] - Jesus Meets the Weary at the Well

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 4:34
“My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” [31:12]

Matthew 22:37-39
“Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.” [39:16]

Matthew 28:19-20
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” [39:43]

Observation questions

In John 4, what surprises the disciples when they return to Jesus, and what is the Samaritan woman doing as they arrive? [31:29]
When the disciples urge Jesus to eat, how do they understand His response about having “food,” and how does Jesus explain what He means? [42:01]
What three ongoing parts of the Father’s will are highlighted through the Great Commandment and the Great Commission? [39:16]
What does Jesus tell the disciples to do when they assume the harvest is still months away, and who appears to be coming toward Him at that moment? [53:07]

Interpretation questions

Jesus describes doing and finishing the Father’s work as His food rather than merely His duty. What does this reveal about the relationship between obedience, joy, and spiritual strength? [45:17]
Jesus crosses cultural and social boundaries to speak with the Samaritan woman. What does this encounter show about who is included in Christ’s saving mission? [35:24]
Jesus connects loving God, loving neighbors, and making disciples with the Father’s will in every setting. How might these commands give believers direction when they are unsure of a more specific calling? [39:16]
Jesus tells His disciples that the fields are ready for harvest while the woman’s neighbors are coming toward Him. What might keep believers from recognizing the people and opportunities God has already placed nearby? [53:24]

Application questions

What “empty calories” do you tend to reach for when you are stressed, lonely, restless, or tired? What would it look like to turn toward God’s will rather than those things this week? [46:50]
Where has God already placed you to love Him, love others, and help make disciples—at home, work, school, or in your neighborhood? Is there one person there who needs grace and truth from you? [40:06]
Is there an interruption in your life right now—a conversation, need, or difficult person—that you may have been viewing as an inconvenience? How might God be inviting you to see it as an opportunity to plant a seed? [54:33]
When have you experienced being physically tired but spiritually full because you were serving, parenting, caregiving, or loving someone well? How can the group encourage healthy faithfulness without ignoring the need for rest? [50:03]
Is there someone you have stopped praying for or speaking to about Jesus because you have not seen change? What faithful, gentle seed of grace or truth could you plant in that relationship? [54:58]
If you are in a weary, painful, or shame-filled season, what would “one more step” of trust and obedience look like—not solving everything, but receiving Christ’s strength for today? [58:48]

Sermon Clips

36s

#ObedienceIsTheBlessing

“We might say it this way, obedience to God, doing his will, isn't something you do so that blessings will happen to you later. That's not what we believe. Obedience to God, doing the father's will is the blessing. It is the blessing. It is the main course. We're not gonna do the father's will so something good will come to us later and then we'll feel strong. No, the thing that makes you strong is doing the father's will.”

40s

#GoodTired

“Being physically tired is not proof that you have wandered outside of God's will, Okay? Sometimes the most physically tired you are ever going to be is when you are in the center of God's will doing the real work that he has made you to do. We'll call that just being good tired, good tired. And that's where Jesus was. He is at this well and he is he is tired and yet he is fulfilled because he is doing the thing that he was made to do. Loving his father, loving those around him and making disciples. That's what you're made to do too.”

41s

#PlantSeeds

“And I want you to know, here's what I want you to know. Never squander the opportunity to plant seeds in someone's life because God, God is not a man that he should be mocked, he is not a man that he could lie. If he says there will be a harvest, there will be a harvest. And you don't get to pick the time of that harvest. You don't know when some, you don't know someone else's story, but God knows. And all he asks us to do is to be faithful and plant seeds. The question is not whether the seeds will grow, that's God's job. The question is, will we obey and plant the seeds of grace and truth in people's life?”

36s

#JesusMeetsYou

“But what it does promise is that God does his best work at wells like this one. When people are as tired as you are, one day at a time, just going one day and so if you're too worn out, if you think I'm too worn out to be met by Jesus or I'm too far gone to be met by Jesus, if I've done too much to be met by Jesus, I just want to tell you that's where Jesus likes to meet people that are worn out, that are going through hard times.”

32s

#GodsWillSatisfies

“Jesus says, no, not at all. Don't do those things. Look to your father and do his things. The will says, hey, the world's in core, our culture says, find your own truth. Follow your passions. If it feels good, do that thing. And I'm just gonna lovingly tell you, that's like reaching for junk food. It's reaching for junk food because it's never gonna satisfy you. The thing that satisfies you is doing the will of the father.”

40s

#NourishYourSoul

“I think some of us, myself, you know, preach to myself up here, some of us are going through very low seasons of our life because our soul is hungry. Our soul is hungry. Have you ever felt that way? Your soul is just hungry. You you you you fill, we fill our life with junk food. We fill our soul with junk food when we need to be filling our soul with doing the will of the father. And you cannot sustain your spiritual growth. You cannot sustain the battles of this life if your soul is not nourished.”

37s

#LoveLikeJesus

“And Jesus would tell us this morning that of all the things that we could do in our life, the thing that will nourish us, the thing that will strengthen us, the thing that will keep us going in this life is doing the father's will. Is doing the father's will, is focusing on what God has put right in front of us, the people that God has put right in front of us, loving them, sharing grace and truth with them, much like Craig did, much like miss Joellen does every single week. Just loving people, doing the father's will is the thing that fulfills us.”

26s

#LiveOnMission

“When you go home today, the will of the father is for you to love God, to follow him, to trust him with all of your heart, to love your neighbor as yourself, and to make disciples. If you're a parent, your mission is to do that with your kids in your house, right? When you go to work, your mission, the will of the father is to do that at work, wherever you are.”

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