"Jesus had to go through Samaria. He came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, which was near the land Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from his journey, so he sat down at the well. It was about noon."
John 4:4-6 CEB
In the Gospel of John chapter 4 we find Jesus and the disciples heading for Galilee, only to stop at a well, Jacob’s well to rest. Jesus stayed at the well while the disciples went into town with a grocery list. Jesus’ target was to make it to Galilee. But on the way, at this well, he meets a Samaritan woman and offers her his “living water for which she will never go thirsty.” This changes her life. And not only her life but the lives of others as she runs into the village and brings back a crowd of people to meet Jesus.
There is the time when Jesus was heading to the house of a man named Jairus, whose 12-year-old daughter was dying. Crowds followed him, their sights set to see Jesus heal this young girl. However, on the way to Jairus’ house, a woman who had been suffering from severe bleeding for years, grabbed the hem of Jesus’ garment in hopes that she would be healed. Jesus felt her touch and stopped. He could have said, “Can’t you see that I’m on my way to somewhere important? You want to see me? Make an appointment.” No, he stopped, looked straight into her pained eyes and told her that she was healed.
This is a healing that occurred “on the way.” It wasn’t part of Jesus’ destination yet happened on the journey. How much of life do we miss because we are too busy making plans? How much of the wonders and workings of God in which we are immersed do we rush past because our sights are set down the road? We may reach our goals but at the same time miss out on life – the touch of God in our life that we can find on the journey.