Today I am feeling blessed. Even though it is not Thursday, God has placed on my heart some encouragement to share. My scripture reading for today really just summed up so nicely some "wrestling with God" that I have been doing this week and I hope it is helpful to you.
S - Mark 6:1-7
Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? (side note by this author: this is not Judas who later betrays Jesus) Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.
O - My first observation is that I find it remarkable that Jesus has lived 30 years before he started his ministry. He was "God with us" and yet chose to live a human life in a small town in Nazareth as a carpenter. I have always found this interesting and what I can decipher from the scriptures is God's timing is always perfect and Jesus knew when the right time would be to begin. Mary knew who he was because of his divine birth and yet she had been waiting all this time for her son to show the world "what he can do"...no one, not even his own mother, really understood what his ultimate purpose was, even as he died on the cross.
In this passage, Jesus has already begun his ministry and he is returning to his hometown with his disciples. The people that he grew up with actually are offended that he is saying the things he says and is performing miracles. They are having trouble seeing him for who he is because they are blinded by how they saw him growing up. It's not like he woke up on this 30th birthday and became the son of God. He knew who he was all along and waited before revealing it to the world. They don't know what to think of him and Jesus is amazed at their lack of faith!
Another observation about this passage is that Jesus was not discouraged by this lack of faith from his hometown and continued with his plan. From his comment, it's like he knew exactly how they would react but he went home anyway. Then, He sent out the disciples two by two. His plan for sharing his message was for the disciples to go in pairs. They were not meant to do ministry alone. On the journey the disciples were able to encourage one another and complement each other's strengths as they ministered to people.
A - This reminds me of the story of when David was anointed king as a young shepherd boy. No one that knew him believed that a young shepherd boy would be called by God to be king, nor did they believe that he could take down Goliath. One of my favorite verses from David's story is from 1 Samuel 16:7 - "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Jesus was amazed at the lack of faith in his hometown, although he was probably not surprised. They looked at Jesus' outward appearance and saw a carpenter boy.
For me personally, this applies to my life in a couple ways. First, it is kind of interesting to me that today we have a show like "The Voice" and we have a local girl from here in Houston (Cypress) that will have everyone in our area cheering her on because she is from our town. AND she won the whole thing!!! WOW! We can say "we know her!" when we don't really "know" her, we just claim her as one of our own. I wonder what would happen if it was like in Jesus time but with modern technology and someone from our high school or hometown went on national TV and started quoting scripture, healing people, and claiming to be the son of God. Would we have the same reaction as someone we could cheer for on a talent show? Would we react to the son of God the same way today as the people of Nazareth? Do we see someone's potential, or do we see who they have always been?
Secondly, two nights ago my friend Linda was an encourager. Some may think I'm weird but I could literally sit and discuss "deep thoughts" for hours. There are not many that would do this with me, not even several of my family members. People get bored...want to change topics...get restless...etc. Perhaps she felt compelled because I was "wrestling with God" over something and she wanted to help. Linda just sat, and listened, and gave biblical advice and prayed, and listened some more. This went on for hours and it occurred to me that Linda made a CHOICE to give me encouragement and be a friend, even while I probably drove her a little crazy. Even while she may have been tired and annoyed with me inside, she chose to show me love and support instead as we talked through all angles of the topic at hand. The "deep thoughts" that Linda was helping me wrestle with God about was having to do with listening for God's voice, waiting, and not growing weary as we wait on the Lord. For me, I find it easy when a friend is struggling, to be an encourager and have a steadfast faith in the Lord that I even surprise myself with sometimes. But sometimes I need the same thing from a friend and I really get very hard on myself that I "need" it! And I definitely don't like to ASK for encouragement! I think I should be strong and I'm not. Linda was this friend for me and it was a significant conversation because it helped me realize exactly what this verse that I read today is about.
We will face hurdles in life and beat ourselves up for not being who we or others THINK we should be. People look at us and think "you can't do that" or we look at ourselves in the mirror and think "who do you think you are...you're not ever going to be/do _________". Sometimes we are our own worst critic. Sometimes we have someone in our life who always sees the negative or "realistic" side of things and it makes you doubt your abilities. Sometimes, in my case the other night, we are doubting whether we're walking the right path that God wants us to take or whether we are really hearing his voice, or whether we can even do what we think he wants us to do! Sometimes you have ALL of these bundled up in your brain and it makes one complicated mess! Wow, that's a lot of doubt right there!!! (I'll have to write another time on "renewing your mind" and how we purge negative thoughts)
So here's some encouragement for those of you that are weary. Jesus was not discouraged by those in his hometown that did not see him for who he was or who he was going to be for the people. They had little faith in his abilities. He did it anyway. AND he encouraged his disciples to go out in PAIRS and do ministry ANYWAY. We are meant to do what God is calling us to do, even if it seems like a temporary assignment and face discouragement and doubters, and do it ANYWAY. And we are not meant to do life alone. Are you trying to do life alone or do you have someone to be a "pair" with...someone that encourages you and helps you use your strengths. I would venture to guess that the natural answer for many is your spouse, a best friend or a parent. However, I think there are many that will NOT say their spouse/best friend/parent is an encourager and he/she does NOT help you use your strengths. Maybe you feel like you have no one like this in your life. Maybe you are feeling DIScouraged right now. I'm not recommending changing your spouse or your parents necessarily, although you might be able to change your friends??? Consider this...perhaps YOU can be the encourager in ALL of your relationships and I just bet, you will find someone that will be the encourager for you. If that is your focus, how you can go out and be an encourager, it will take the focus off yourself and I believe God WILL send you someone to be an encourager for you. And you can be an encourager for yourself. You can do what God is calling you to do ANYWAY, even when it's hard, even when you face obstacles, even when you face naysayers, even when you doubt your own abilities. Let's believe that "God equips the called" and be encouragers for each other! I have been this for Linda (which I am glad to say I have the opportunity to do on occasion) and she had a chance to do this for me. It's a beautiful thing when we can look past the negative in each other and look at the heart, encouraging each other as we do life together.
P - Dear Lord, please hear my simple prayer. May you help us to hear your voice, send us encouragers, empower us to BE an encourager and equip us to do what you are calling us to do ANYWAY. In Jesus' holy name. Amen!
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