An Everyday Kind of Thing

"There he is!" Shalach shouted. Barely looking back at the others, he took off running towards Jesus. He wasn't in the lead for long, as some of the other men were clearly just as excited to share their tales with Jesus.

An army of seventy-two men ran very excitedly towards Jesus.

Weeks ago, Jesus had sent them out, two-by-two, to every city he intended to visit. He instructed them not to take anything with them. Instead, he instructed them to say, "The kingdom of God has come near to you."

It had been an arduous, but rewarding journey. Some people wouldn't even listen to the message, but that was all right. Jesus told them to shake the dust off their feet when a town rejected their message. Many, many people received the message with joy and anticipation. Oh, and the people that were healed! Shalach had never been used by God in such a way, but he hoped God would not stop now!

Shalach reached the group of men surrounding Jesus. Shalach shouted into the frenzy, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" Jesus smiled wide as the men  talked over each other, but the gibberish didn't seem to bother him.

Jesus climbed onto a rock, and a hush settled over the group. "I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, an nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven."

Based on Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Can you imagine being one of those seventy-two men. It's the day your leaving, and your trying not to vomit behind a nearby rock as Jesus instructs the group. You are going to travel to city after city, proclaiming this vague, hopeful message. You can't take your iphone with you. Your credit cards and wallet remain tucked away at home. That huge ice chest you bought on sale is pointless because Jesus wants you to rely on others for food and lodging. And to top it all off, Jesus told them to heal the sick. Do His kind of miracles.

Commence freaking out.

But those guys came back practically leaping for joy. They were men, so they wouldn't admit to leaping because that's not masculine enough. Anyways, you get my point. They were excited. They were on fire. They were full of zeal. They had seen the power of God work. They were used by God to do extraordinary things! Even the demons couldn't stand against them when they used the name of Jesus! But how does this apply to us?

"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, an nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven." Luke 10:19-20

Jesus had given them (and us) power and authority to do all those awesome things. But that wasn't the big deal, the big deal was that they were saved.

Well, we are saved. Hopefully we are all rejoicing in that. But what about those extraordinary God things? Jesus almost acted nonchalant about all those cool testimonies. Why? Because awesome God things are supposed to be apart of your life when you walk with God. God's authority in the life of a believer isn't supposed to be a rare thing. It's supposed to be apart of our lives, an everyday kind of thing. Stop letting it slide by you. Use it! Believe that God wants to use you in mighty ways, because He does.

V. Joy Palmer