August 2, 2018

Effective Communications Part III – Tailored, Timed, Divine

Scripture: “When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’ – John 4:7

Observation/Application:
In John 4 we see Jesus reach out and talk to a Samaritan woman while he is sitting by the well. This lady comes across Jesus’s path, and Jesus takes this moment to have an impact, not only on the woman, but on the entire town. I often pray that I will appreciate and be obedient to whatever it is that God wants me to do with every interaction, with whoever God brings across my path during the day. Jesus just focused simply on having an effective interaction and impact with her. The salvation of many others in the town was a side benefit of that one effective interaction.

The next thing I think about is that when God brings people across our path, we have to initiate conversation. Notice Jesus reaches out to her. If we are to do the Will of God, we often have to initiate conversation with people God brings across our path.

Next, Jesus connects with her about something they have in common interest, water at the well. And he does this in the form of a question, so that she is obliged to reply.

Jesus then listens to what she has to say, and replies in a way that arouses her interest. It’s like a good newspaper article where the first sentence is a real zinger that catches your attention and makes you want to read the rest of the article. Notice in this interaction, he doesn’t just deliver the same mission statement that he delivered in John 3:16 to Nicodemus. He tailors His communication to the Samaritan woman, and only takes the message as far as she is ready to accept. He only gave her as much food as she was ready for.

This is really an important concept, because so often we want to share everything with everyone. But it is super important that what we see our communications as a two-way street. For communication to work, we send the communication but it has to be received. Sending too much information does no one any good either. It’s like feeding someone a 15 pounds of steak when they are full after the first pound. Nothing else is going into their body to nourish them. Neither are our Words going into their body. It’s like sending an email that bounces and comes back to you. The message is not received and all of the time and labor construction this huge masterful email was a waste of our time.

Instead, Jesus listens to her reply, then gives her the right sized information. When she says, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us”, Jesus replies with the exact message that she needs declaring, “I, the one speaking to you – I am he.”

When we look at more of Jesus interactions we see a common pattern. He always seems to connect on something that the person can relate to. Think about when he first comes across the two fishermen Peter and his brother Andrew. He says to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” – (Mat.4-19).

Yesterday we talked about Jesus interaction with Nicodemus who recognized that Jesus was sent by God. Nicodemus was ready for a more mature look at who Jesus really was, and in John 3:16 Jesus reveals to him that he is in fact the Son of God. Jesus the master communicator delivers his message clearly and simply once he connects, arouses interest, and understands what depth of information needs to be delivered.

How do we do this? The key lies in doing what Jesus does. To have maximum impact in our Words, we need to be guided by the Spirit who will give us the exact Words that are needed to achieve the Will of God. Remember, every interaction is a divine moment, a divine opportunity to advance the kingdom of God.

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your amazing Word this morning. We are so humbled and overwhelmed by your wisdom and revelation through your Word. Help us to stay diligent on our daily reading and journaling. Help us to remain focused on you all throughout the day. Help us to know that every person you bring across our path, every interaction is a divine interaction. Help us to make the most of every opportunity for the good of your glory. Let our words be impactful, like that of Jesus to the Samaritan woman where the entire town believed because of that one simple interaction. Let your Spirit fall upon us that our words an actions be tailored, timed, and divine, in Jesus mighty name. Amen.

Let our words be like well-tailored suit, perfect for the occasion.

Image courtesy of: ksbuehler