I was walking in a store the other day and my eyes couldn’t believe all the back to school stuff that was on display. I thought, isn’t school a few weeks off? I forgot the school year was going to start a bit earlier than usual this year. As I walked the aisles of that store, I couldn’t believe the number of parents and school kids that were loading up their shopping cart with new school supplies for going back to school.

My parents didn’t have very much money so when it came to getting stuff for going back to school, things like school supplies and new school clothes, we were very limited as to what we could buy. I used to covet some of the cool things and clothes many of the kids had on the first day of school. Yet, as I look back on those days, I still made it through the school year as all those other kids did who had the new stuff and clothes. In the end my pencils were stubs, yet they still wrote; though my clothes were not the latest style of that year, they were still on my body. What I thought I had to have at the beginning of school, at the end of the school year, seemed not to matter much.

We read in Matthew 10 where Jesus called the 12 disciples together and then sent them out and gave them the authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. Can you imagine the excitement that was in the air and in the hearts of the disciples? This mission was greater than any first day of school could ever be. I like placing myself in the text so had I been one of the disciples, I could hardly wait to get to the nearest Walmart so I could pick up any and all supplies I would need for this trip, along with some good munchies for me to eat as we traveled along.

As Jesus was giving His disciples instructions for this trip, He says something that would have surely messed with most of our minds. Jesus said in Matthew 10:9-10 “Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep”

No money to buy supplies should we run out during this trip; no bag for the journey, where would I stash my extra bag of Cheetos, my twizzlers or any other candy I wanted to eat? What if my clothes got torn or ruined on this trip or my sandals fell apart, what I do? Surely Jesus must have not been on any mission trips as of late or He would have not have said all of this, right!!!

This may all sound funny and such but it is also very real as to what we think we need to accomplish any task the Lord may lay on our hearts.

When God instructed Moses to go to Pharaoh to bring His people, the Israelites out of Egypt. we read Moses said to God: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Before we go on, let’s be honest and admit that we would have either thought the same thing or even have said the same thing to God, right. Pharaoh was not just any guy, he was king of Egypt and his tongue had the power to decide if we live or not. God said to Moses, “I will be with you” 

We all feel much better if we have all the right supplies on hand whenever we take a trip of any kind. As believers, followers of Jesus Christ, we too often think it’s the supplies, the right Bible verses memorized, any weapon we may need to fight off an attack from the enemy that makes any task from the Lord to be a success.

Succeeding during any school year is not dependent on if we have all the cool new supplies at the start and new clothes. It depends on you and me and if we determine in our hearts to learn all we can during the school year.

Success in any task the Lord may give us as His children is not dependent on anything we have or know but on Who is with us. God told Moses, “I will be with you” The disciples would learn as they embarked on this journey the Lord was sending them on, that any and all success obtained on this trip would come about as they leaned on and trusted in the Lord.

In our own minds it would have made better sense for this journey Jesus was sending His disciple on if  they had been better equipped.

Yet, we must remember, if Jesus gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and heal every disease and sickness, providing for their needs on this journey would be a no brainier. All the had to do was trust in Who it was that had sent them out; knowing He would provide any and everything they would need!!

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash