July 24, 2023

Matthew 11: 20 Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. (NIV)

True faith is obeying God in spite of feelings, circumstances, or consequences.*

Ever since I lost my job several years ago, God has been teaching me about my purpose and what he wants from me. Because I was collecting unemployment benefits those first few months, I was required to apply for a certain number of jobs each week. Job-hunting became an exercise in futility and a simultaneous exercise in faith as I trusted God to help me land the right job - all while knowing that most of my applications were merely fulfilling a quota rather than getting the attention of an HR director.

We don’t usually know that we are participating in an exercise in futility until it’s over, but Jesus knew. He performed most of his miracles in cities, knowing that the people were not going to repent. While Jesus was clearly aware of his eventual rejection by these cities as a whole, there is no reason to doubt that seeds of faith were planted among individual citizens. But . . . waste of time or not, performing miracles in those cities was God’s will – and he did his Father’s will. Obedience, he knew, is never pointless.

God doesn’t waste anything. He fulfills his providential purpose even during seasons of life that seem pointless to us.*