Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Jesus calls us to go out to all the world and proclaim the good news. He promises to be with us to confirm our words with signs and wonders.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
Yet we are also told that we must remain humble and steadfast. Perhaps this should surprise us a little.
So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time.
Just because the Church walks in the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit doesn't mean that she doesn't suffer.
Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, steadfast in faith,
knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world
undergo the same sufferings.
But again, shouldn't we be surprised? On the one hand there are miraculous healings. On the other there is suffering that must simply be endured with patience and humility. Yet we see this same pattern in the life of Jesus. He himself does many mighty deeds. But the mightiest of his deeds is his death on the Cross and his resurrection. Signs and wonders reveal the risen life that awaits us. But suffering shows us that we aren't quite all the way there. Suffering is opportunity to trust, to obey, to be humble, to submit and to be made perfect. For our part, we don't need to have a preference that assumes that suffering must be permitted by God. Perhaps he wants to work a miracle through us. But neither do we assume that we will always receive just the miracle we desire. And in fact, neither of these options matters nearly so much as remaining faithful to Jesus in good times and in bad. If we do we are able to preach the word in season and out of season (see Second Timothy 4:2).
Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.
This posture of humility, ready for anything God might desire to do, is the call on our lives. Persevering in this call is how we experience the peace that the world cannot take from us.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
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