Daily Devotions - Trust in God's Plan

Mark 6:6b-13 NIV

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
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. 8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

 

Where has God sent you to tell about the Kingdom?

 

It is in my nature to plan and be prepared for anything that could happen. Going on a trip without food, clothing and a mapped-out plan would stress me out. But that is exactly how You sent out Your disciples. No bread, no bag, no money, no extra clothes, or no lodging reservations. When sending them out with no provisions, they needed to trust that You would not only give them the words to speak and the anointing to heal people but that You would take care of their every physical need. Although I know that You are calling me to tell others about Your kingdom, I hesitate. Lord forgive me when I make excuses that I don't know what to say, and that I am not prepared to speak to others about You. When I trust in Your plan, things happen. You sent me to spend a great amount of time with my grandsons over the past year. It has been a great blessing to my heart when I am able to tell my grandkids about You. I pray that You use my words and examples to grow in their hearts as I pray with them and discuss Your goodness and love to them. I will never be perfectly prepared, and my delivery will never be flawless, but if I wait until I feel comfortable, they may never receive Your truth in a way that only I can give it to them. Lord, there are so many other people in this world that desperately need to hear Your message of love, grace, and forgiveness. Help me not miss the opportunity to share Your love with them because I don't feel prepared. There are encounters with people where my response and words can be the exact thing they needed at that time. If I wait, they may never receive Your truth because I missed that opportunity when their hearts were open. Let me show generous kindness to others and look for the open door to tell them about You. It may interrupt what I had planned to be doing, but allow me to recognize the opportunity You have prepared and be flexible to respond accordingly. Let me be prepared to share what I do know; how much I love You and how Your grace and forgiveness have changed my life. I can let them know that You love them and died for their sins and are waiting for them to accept You. Let me be an example to them and plant seeds of Your love in their hearts and trust that You will do the rest. People need to hear of Your message of salvation. I need to share it. You want me to trust You and Your provisions. You have equipped me with Your Spirit and that is all that I need. Open my eyes to see the precious opportunities to tell others about Your kingdom. Amen