Are you looking for the harvest, or are your eyes still on the distractions?
Key Verse:
“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” —John 4:34 (NASB)
Background Context:
After His conversation with the Samaritan woman, Jesus is still at the well when His disciples return and urge Him to eat. But His response confuses them: He says He has food they don’t know about. They’re still thinking physically, but Jesus is focused spiritually. His nourishment—the thing that drives and satisfies Him—is doing the Father’s will and finishing the task He was sent to do.
Then He redirects their attention to the harvest. He uses a familiar farming reference to shake them out of their delay-oriented mindset: “There are four months, and then comes the harvest.” But Yeshua says, “Look! The fields are ready now.” In other words, don’t wait. Don’t be distracted. Don’t assume it’s not yet time to work. The harvest of souls is ripe—now.
He emphasizes that this work is a shared effort. Some sow, others reap. But all rejoice together in the eternal fruit that is gathered. And His disciples, then and now, are called to join in the labor.
(Continued and expanded after scripture.)
31Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” 34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. 35“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. 36“Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37“For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38“I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
Reflection on John 4:31–38:
Yeshua challenges us to lift our eyes. Too often, we are consumed by physical needs, comfort, or routine. But He wants us to see what He sees—people ready to receive truth, hearts longing for hope, lives hungry for the gospel.
Are you so distracted by daily demands or waiting for a “better time” that you miss what’s already in front of you? The harvest isn’t later—it’s now. The people around you—coworkers, neighbors, even strangers—are fields ready for seed, water, and harvest.
You may think you’re not equipped to reap. But Yeshua reminds us that others have already labored. Some have planted seeds of truth; others have watered with kindness and prayer. He calls us to step into the ongoing work—whether sowing, watering, or harvesting—and trust that it’s His field and His reward.
Application:
Are your eyes lifted to the spiritual harvest? Are you actively seeking opportunities to share truth and love with others?
Pray for open eyes to see the opportunities around you. Ask God to use you, whether to plant seeds or reap the fruit. Don’t wait for the “perfect time”—step into the work today.
Closing Prayer:
Father, help me to desire Your will more than my own comfort. Open my eyes to the harvest all around me. Let me not miss the work You’ve prepared for me. Use me to sow, water, or reap, and may I find joy in every part of the process. I want to do Your will, just as Yeshua did. In His name I pray, amen.
May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you.
John Golda
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