Rocky Roads

“and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there. Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’” - Luke 9:2-5, NRSV

Sometimes the road ahead looks rocky. There may be big boulders in sight that can be planned for. Or there may be small sharp pebbles that are only felt as soon as they are walked on. Either way, in the faith life, God never promised us that the walk would be easy. Very often, the challenges we face do not appear until they are right in front of us. These difficulties are the ones that do not present themselves until we are in the midst of them. We may be cruising along, all seemingly going well, but we go around a blind corner and suddenly come to a massive rock in the path.

In Luke 9:1-5, Jesus sends out his twelve disciples with “. . . power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases.” Jesus invites them to go out and spread the word of God and bring His love to others. Yet he tells them to take nothing with them for the journey he is sending them on. Jesus asks them to take each day as it comes, to stay with whoever welcomes them in, and if they encounter resistance, to simply “shake the dust” from their feet (9:5). What does this tell us about our own walk?

Sometimes we will not be equipped to face what is in front of us. We will lack the tools necessary to get through the mess ahead. But, just as Jesus assured the disciples that they would get what they need, so too we can be assured that we will be provided with what we need for the rocky journey. We must simply put our trust in Him.

Why trust Him? Because He is worthy of our love and trust. He has our best interest at our heart. He knows what we need before we even know we need it. The gospel of John describes that Jesus prayed for us. Before Jesus’ death and resurrection, he knew what was about to happen, and he prayed for the disciples: “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one” (John 17:11). But he goes on to say later in his prayer, “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one” (John 17:20, emphasis added).

That’s you. Jesus prayed for YOU. And he prayed that all believers would be one.

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Jesus laid down his life for us. He is worthy of being trusted.

The road with Jesus isn’t always easy; but He will be with us. We must pick up the crosses we bear in our lives and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). The challenges we face in life are painful, like walking on a rocky road, but we can be assured that Jesus will be with us “. . . always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

In Christ,

Lauren

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All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible.