Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Mark 1:14-20
Reflect on the Word //
One of my daughters absolutely delights in creative questions. One of her favorite questions relates to superpowers and which superpower we want to have. She always gives the same answer, but each time she asks me I try to throw her a new superpower as my response. Another great question in this game of inquiry could be, “What do you leave behind to follow the Lord?”
I can picture myself standing at the edge of the Sea of Galilee, the small black pebbles under my feet as the cool water shifts them with each little wave. The disciples left their nets, there on the banks of the sea, and followed the Lord (see Mark 1:20). They just left them and followed Jesus. What do I need to leave behind? Facing that water, before I turn and walk towards the Lord, what am I holding on to? What am I clutching? My dreams, my plans, my desires. Can I just leave them next to the disciples’ nets and follow Jesus? Can I take some with me just in case? In case of what? In case I don't like the dreams, plans, or desires the Lord has for me. The Lord’s plans are superior to my own, and yet knowing this intellectually isn’t sufficient for me to let go of my own.
What is in your hands?
Dear sister, letting go of those nets that hold us back from living fully with the Lord—dreams, control, pride, or whatever else you have in your hands—takes great trust. Do you trust the Lord enough to let go of whatever is keeping you at that shoreline, and turn to follow Jesus? Surrendering everything to Jesus is the only way to walk along the path with Him.
Relate to the Lord // What is in your hands that needs surrendering? Tell Jesus now.
Dr. Mary Ruth Hackett is a writer, national speaker, and podcast host covering topics in psychology and faith. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and works at the important intersection of faith and developmental science, blending them in the original harmony God intended. Dr. Mary Ruth is the author of Daughter by Design: Discovering Your Identity as God's Beloved Daughter, and co-coauthor of Spiritual Discernment for Beginners: Learning to Hear God and Defeat the Lies of the Enemy. She is a contributing author to All She Had and our children’s devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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