Food that truly satisfies

“Meanwhile his disciples urged him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you know nothing about.’ Then his disciples said to each other, ‘Could someone have brought him food?’ ‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.’” (John 4:30-34)

What were you created for? What is the work that energizes you, that gives you life, that makes you sing?

And are you doing that work?

Or have you even figured out what that work is?

Just to clarify: I’m not necessarily talking about a career, although if you can find a career that energizes you, all the better. I’m taking about your sweet spot, that endeavor where everything just feels right.

Certainly, that sweet spot is different for each person. For one man, it may be helping someone in need. For another, it may be leading someone to faith in Jesus. For one woman, it may be being a mother to her children. For another, it may be organizing a great event in which everyone works together to the glory of God. It can be any number of things: painting, singing, photography, sports, leading a group, sharing a testimony, giving financially, preaching a sermon, teaching a Sunday School class, counseling a struggling couple, cleaning a house, balancing a budget, leading others in worship, creating a meal, or any number of other things.

For me, my passion is to pastor God’s people. Most days, I fall short of experiencing that sweet spot. But on the rare occasion, I feel what Jesus must have felt in John 4:34, when He told the disciples that He was not hungry because He was fully satisfied by seeing the sinful woman at the well transformed by His witness into an evangelist to her whole community. Every once in awhile, I feel that I am living into the work that God has called me to do, and I experience a level of satisfaction, joy, and fulfillment that nothing in this world can touch. And on those days I say with a smile, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about. My food is to do the will of Him who sent me.”

The Bible talks about how each of us have been given spiritual gifts by God, gifts that energize us and bless others. If you know what your gift is, are you finding opportunities to use it? And if you don’t know what your gift is (or gifts are), start serving others in various ways and see what energizes you and blesses others. There is a satisfaction in this life greater than anything the world has to offer, and it is to live into the role God has called you to. What is that role for you? May you live into it in greater ways in 2015.