Today's passage is Matthew 4:12-25.
Jesus begins his ministry of repentance. He calls the fishermen Peter, Andrew, James and John as his first disciples. He teaches, preaches and heals the sick, physically afflicted and demon possessed. Large crowds follow him.
When Jesus called me over thirty years ago, I was living in poverty, proud and angry.
I could see no reason to obey Jesus' call.
I resisted because I did not want any lord of my life other than me.
I wanted to be the boss of me.
Even though I was clearly making a mess of my life, I resisted Jesus' call to obedience out of childish spite, resisting for the sake of resisting.
The first disciples followed Jesus "at once" and "immediately".
This amazes me. No second thoughts, no resistance.
They left their father, who was also their boss, their tools, their jobs, the way they made money, to follow Jesus, who said he had another father, another boss, another job for them.
Amazing.
Now I follow Jesus like the crowds because I'm sick with sin and I need my Lord's healing.
My recurrng problem has been spiritual blindness.
I don't see the obvious because to see clearly would be to see my pride in myself.
My first wife became an alcoholic but I blinded myself to that because if I admitted her alcoholism, then I would see I had an imperfect wife and I could not accept that anything around me was less than perfect.
Right now I'm feeling paralysed with fear.
My school begins in three weeks and there is much to plan and organize.
But, even though I am the principal, I have to teach summer school English for those three weeks.
I don't have time to plan and organize the beginning of the school year.
#65279;
To teach well, I need to focus on teaching.
But I worry I won't focus because the school planning will always be on my mind.
I worry that I will fail to teach well and fail to have a clear plan ready for my teachers and staff.
Today's passage says that Jesus healed "every disease and sickness," and "he healed them."
I'm in that crowd, reaching to Jesus for healing of my fear.
#65279;
My application is to keep reaching to Jesus and trust to his healing.
The way for me to do that is through my QT and my worship.
I want to see Jesus more clearly so I can see my way.
