Mark 6:7-13
“Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet.” (Mark 6:11)
When I first started growing in my faith, I didn’t understand the importance of accepting when someone isn’t ready to hear what you’re saying. I believed that truth would blast through all resistance and that if I didn’t persist until they heard and acted upon it, I wasn’t following God’s will. But Jesus didn’t say to do this. He told his disciples that if people don’t receive what you’re telling them, it’s okay to leave.
Maturing in faith means understanding that you might not be the person God wants to use to love someone. You are called to try, not to succeed. True humility involves letting this not affect your ego and accepting that just because God asked you to share the Good News doesn’t mean you will be the one to see them take root.
If someone isn’t ready to welcome God’s word, repeating it won’t change that. And it’s not because they are being purposely defiant. They might have been hurt in the past and have some walls up to protect them. Or maybe they just haven’t seen enough to convince them that what you are saying is true. Ultimately God’s grace is what leads people to faith, not eloquent words.
I remember this clicking when someone explained it like this: “You can’t move a parked car. Someone has to put it in neutral first.” Similarly, God won’t move us without our consent, and He wouldn’t ask us to try to do this to anyone else either.
We have to realize that even if God calls us to speak to someone, it doesn’t mean our words will convince them. We need to honor where that person is and, if necessary, move on, trusting that God will do what is best for them to show them the love they need and when they need it.
I struggled to come to terms with this, but once I accepted that it’s okay to step away if the timing isn’t right, I felt far less anxious. I only had to try and be open to where God led me in that conversation. Learning when to step away helped me trust how God is working through my interactions, even if I don’t understand them myself.
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