Are you Willing?
As Christians, Jesus sends us to be messengers of the Good News. Meaning Jesus invites us to participate in the mission of God, following His own footsteps. Jesus also informs us that being His messenger is not easy. In fact, it will be very hard. There will be lots of persecution and hardships because some will receive the message well and some will not receive it well. But Jesus encourages us to ‘shake the dust from our feet’ and keep going because He will take care of rejection.
Our invitation to be messengers wasn’t to create faith in people, it was an invitation to spread faith.
In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 10, Matthew writes what Jesus is telling the SENT ones. At this time, Jesus was sending His 12 disciples to be messengers.
Matthew 10:16-20 NLT says,
16 “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. 17 But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues. 18 You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me. 19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. 20 For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
Jesus already warned His disciples of what being His Messenger looks like. It looked like going to places where you know you’re not welcomed already. Because during the time Jesus was alive, many people didn’t receive Jesus well. Which caused tension between people.
Jesus told His sent out disciples to not worry in verse 19, when persecution or hardships come, because 1) He already warned them and 2) For God will be working through them and their circumstances.
God will intercede on their behalf.
Let this be a word of encouragement that even with the hardships and persecution of being a follower of Christ, we can lean on the Lord for strength, comfort, wisdom, words to speak, and love to give. As Christ's followers, we can and should trust in God because it’s an opportunity for others to know Jesus and follow Him too.
Just like how Jesus is sending us to participate in God's mission, God sent Jesus to participate in His greater mission. God sent Jesus to intercede on our behalf to reconcile us back into a relationship with Him, we couldn't do it on our own. God already did the work and all you should do is trust Him by receiving the gift of Jesus. When we are willing and show up, this leaves room for God to work.
Remember: Christ never promised it was going to be easy to follow Him. Christ did say God will do the work.
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
- Romans 8:28
Your Response ⟶
I encourage you to let God use you because God already did the work through the cross of Jesus Christ.
Know and trust that you are doing nothing on your own strength, rather it's an opportunity for the Spirit of God to work through you onto others. I hope this truth releases the pressure off yourself and your efforts.
Let’s shift our focus to God because God wants to do it for you. He already did it for you, and what’s left for you to do is TRUST HIM. May we be a blessing to bless others. Jesus spoke these very words, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ - Act 20:35
So now the question is,
Are you willing to trust God so that others may know Him too?
