As what her usual custom...

"Some things are so unexpected that no one is prepared for them." (Leo Rosten)

How is it we can have something so plainly before us and totally miss it? We aren't really looking? We aren't really interested? We think it couldn't be? We oftentimes 'miss' what God puts right before us. The woman at the well was there to draw water - do you think she was looking for the Messiah as she went to the well? Not likely - in fact, the Samaritan woman would have been condemned if her peers had of seen her actually talking with a Jewish man. We might not always see, but God can open our eyes so that we can comprehend what it is we are missing!

Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!” (John 4:21-26)

When he comes...

She didn't recognize him as the Messiah, but somehow, she knew there would be a Messiah from among the Jewish nation. Was she looking for him to come? She knew he would 'bring answers' - explaining things in a way so she could understand them - but was she really 'seeking' him? No one really knows, but she must have had at least a bit of faith to speak those words so clearly, suggesting she trusted that the Messiah would come.

What is it you are trusting God for today? Are you really looking for his intervention, or just 'hoping for' something to be 'different'? We can be 'hoping' for a long time if we are never really looking along with that hope. Seeking is part of faith - it isn't that we just believe something will happen - it is that we go about doing whatever God asks of us while we await that which is about to happen. 

She went to the well - drawing her water for the day. She made the journey, knowing it was her 'usual custom' to do so. Did she expect to meet the Messiah there? No, but she knew he was coming. She went about what she knew to do, all the while trusting in the hope of his coming. Perhaps what we need most is not more 'hope', but to just trust while we are going about our 'usual custom' of whatever it is God has tasked us to do. Just sayin!