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Shaking Off Disappointment

Shaking Off Disappointment, picture of Jesus' Feet

When we are living a lifestyle of reaching out to people, we will always have to deal with the fact that not everyone will respond to the message of Jesus. Some people will turn down opportunities to talk with us, to become friends with us, to visit church with us. Others will make it all the way to church and beyond but eventual decide not to follow Jesus.

Jesus taught his disciples about this: 

Luke 9:4-5 (NIV)
[4] Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. [5] If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

When Jesus sent out his disciples, he taught them to shake the dust off their feet as they left a city that didn’t welcome them. The dust Jesus was talking about was white and noticeable and getting it on your feet was a common everyday thing. You knew it was going to happen when you went outside.

Jesus taught his disciples to get rid of the dust while it was still on their feet. What I believe this means for us is that we have to shake off disappointment from outreach before it gets into our hearts. Shake it off your life before it becomes a big deal to you.

It’s not about rejecting people, it’s about shaking off disappointment to keep ready for the next opportunity.

The beauty of outreach is we never know which person will accept our outstretched hand and respond to the gospel of Jesus.
For this reason we have to always be ready with a clean and expectant heart, believing that the next person we reach out to could be a future world changer for Jesus!

However if we hold onto past disappointment, it’s going to effect our faith and action and I believe it will lead to us missing God given opportunities to reach people. So let’s shake off disappointment fast and keep reaching out to people with faith, love and a sense of excitement that the next person we talk to could be a world changer.

The message translation puts it like this:

Luke 9:4-5 (The Message)
“…If you’re not welcomed, leave town. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and move on.”

Let’s continue to reach people for Jesus, no matter what disappointments come!

Rod

 

Comments 3

  1. So applicable in every field! Ministry, business, all relationships.
    Even some relationships …you may not be able “to walk out of town”….but there my be a portion of the relationship you can delicately & carefully apply.

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