June 20, 2024 Devo

When Jesus cut through Samaria on His way to Galilee, the disciples most likely couldn’t believe it. NOBODY went through Samaria. It was way out of their comfort zones, and some of the disciples probably felt it was a waste of time. For some of the more adventurous disciples, it felt as if it was something new, something out of the ordinary, or something cutting edge. But it wasn’t. It was something old.
Notice where Jesus stops. “Near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there…” Jacob…Joseph…recognize those names? This place was RICH with the work of God. God worked profoundly in Jacob’s life, changing his name to Israel. He became the father to 12 tribes that became the “children of God.” Joseph, his son, became the one through whom God worked to save God’s people during the famine. The people were brought to Egypt and given provision and protection because of Joseph. The “new work” that Jesus was doing there was reclaiming the old work that God had begun centuries before. Jesus and His disciples weren’t starting from scratch, they were building upon a foundation that had already been laid.
Take that thought with you today. Wherever you find yourself today, God has already been there. People that you meet, that you think have no idea of who God is, probably have been touched by God in more ways than you know. Places that you think are dark and godless have most likely been places where God has passed through and worked in times past. Very rarely are we the ones who are breaking up untilled soil for God. Most of the time we’re simply reclaiming territory that has drifted away from God or has been taken captive by the Enemy. Samaria, which the disciples would think would be the LAST place the Spirit of God would move, would become a place readily responsive to Jesus. Wherever you go today, God has already been there. May the Spirit of God use you to do some new work in those old places. That’s God’s Word for you today.