Daily Devotional for Thursday 16th May
A prophet without honour
Have you ever been away from home for a while and then come back? How are you normally greeted upon your return? Many people are happy to see you, they want to know what you’ve been up to and where you’ve been.
When Jesus returns to His home town of Nazareth and preaches in the synagogues He is met with resistance. The people who have seen Jesus grow up are now throwing questions towards Him and taking offence.
Jesus tells them “A prophet is not without honour except in his home town, amongst his relatives and in his own home”. The very people you would expect to understand Jesus and who He is in fact are the ones who push hardest against Him.
We may face push backs in our faith from the people that we would assume would support us most. Friends and family may not understand us and even be vocal in their opinions which can cause hurt and upset. If this is the case, we can remember that our heavenly Father loves us unconditionally and we are important to Him. We are all prophets (or workers of God).
Jesus decides to leave this area as the people don’t have faith in Him or His ability. He is amazed at their lack of faith. We will come across people who push against us and are offended by us, but let’s follow Jesus’ example in these instances. He didn’t shout or leave with bad feelings. He knew that He would be of more use in other areas where people were open to Him.
Time to reflect…
It can be difficult when we are faced with resistance, especially by people we thought would support us. In these instances, it may be worth considering lifting these people up in prayer and praying for their eyes and hearts to be opened by Jesus.
Pause to pray…
Heavenly Father,
We have all been in situations where other’s opinions about our faith and our work for You is questioned. Lord, we pray and lift these people to You today. We pray for openness and for these people, for their eyes and heart to be opened up to You and for them to witness Your light shine through us.
In Your heavenly name we pray
Amen.
