SCRIPTURE: Acts 13:49-52
“They shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium.” (Acts 13:51)
To shake the dust off one’s feet is the same idea as ‘I wash my hands of it.’
It is to give people the freedom to decline the offer, to reject the message.
It should not be accompanied by a negative judgmental spirit.
“And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:52)
Not joy that these people rejected Jesus, but joy in Jesus Himself.
A joy that is not dependent on how others respond, or what they do to us.
A negative response is not a defeat, the message of Jesus is still spreading.
I hear the Lord reminding me to keep my joy, whatever the response and results.
Keep my focus on Jesus, and on His kingdom purpose… God will take care of the results.
Just because someone declines today, does not mean they will decline forever.
Even when our work is done, God’s is not… the word of the Lord will keep on spreading!
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, it is sad when people refuse to accept Your life-changing, life-blessing message. Help me not to take it personally, but to leave them and their response in Your hands.