Don’t Miss Him—Lessons from Mark

A desperate mother comes, her daughter tormented by a demon. She begs for help while the disciples ask not for her deliverance but for her silence. Shortly after, Jesus feeds four thousand people with seven loaves, leaving baskets of abundance behind. Yet the disciples still question how they will eat because they only see the one loaf in front of them.

Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, only to pull Him aside moments later and rebuke Him for revealing His mission. Jesus then takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain of transfiguration. Peter, not understanding the moment, suggests building tents, placing Jesus alongside Moses and Elijah. Then the voice of the Father interrupts and corrects him. This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him. Not equal. Not comparable. Completely set apart.

They come down the mountain to find the remaining disciples unable to cast out a demon from a boy. A father stands there, desperate and disappointed. Authority had already been given, yet there was no prayer, no fasting, and therefore no deliverance.

Jesus again tells them of His coming death and resurrection. Instead of understanding, they begin arguing about who among them is the greatest. Jesus corrects them, redefining greatness in a way that turns their thinking upside down.

They then rebuke a man casting out demons in Jesus’ name simply because he is not part of their group, even though he is succeeding where they failed. Jesus stops them. Leave him alone. He is for us and doing it in My name.

Soon after, Jesus teaches on marriage, which was a radically different portrait than the culture around them. Shortly after this, He must correct His disciples again, this time for pushing children away. They assume the children are unimportant, that Jesus does not have time for them. He responds clearly. Let them come.

Again, He foretells His death, and again they argue over position, status, and honor. It is exhausting to read. Frustrating even. Yet Christ does not walk away from them. He stays. He corrects. He shepherds. He disciples. He affirms. Over and over again.

My takeaway is shepherding people is messy.

And we would be foolish to think we are much different from these disciples. We are often just as misaligned and just as self-motivated. We miss the mission while claiming to be on mission. We try to use Christ for personal gain. We argue, compete, and position ourselves. We become so consumed with what we think God wants to do that we attempt His work while leaving Him behind. We overlook people, treating them as inconveniences instead of seeing them as the very purpose. We lack patience. We push away those closest to us, even our own children, as if they are interruptions rather than assignments. We explain away the power of God because we are unwilling to pursue Him through prayer and fasting. We justify the lack of breakthrough in others instead of confronting the lack of faith within ourselves.

We are distracted. Busy. Convinced we are doing His work while missing His heart entirely.

So what changes this? The same thing that changed the disciples. The breath of the Holy Spirit. It was the Spirit who reoriented them, not turning them upside down but finally setting them right side up. Men once driven by selfish ambition became servants. Men who fought for position became unified in purpose. Men who misunderstood everything became carriers of a Kingdom that changed the world.

This morning I told my wife, God is moving, yet I feel a pull to step out of the current we are used to and walk in a different way. To live aware of Him. To be present. To feel the weight of sin without being consumed by distraction. To cultivate His heart instead of chasing our own version of His mission.

There is a better way. And the path to it is not complicated.

I think it is the upper room. It is the quiet place. It is the back porch with eyes fixed on Christ and hands over our mouths, because if I’ve noticed anything through this reading, it is that the more you talk, the more apt you are to sin. It is a life surrendered to the Spirit, willing to move when He moves, to stop when He stops, to go where He leads. Not just studying His words, but walking in His ways. Not observing Scripture from a distance, but stepping into it with obedience.

We were never meant to sit back and watch the story unfold. We are called to step into it. To move boldly and to obey fully. We are called to live as weak vessels filled with His power so that His name would be made known through us in all the earth.

There is a better way. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the Life. He is both our journey and our destination. Do not miss Him along the way. It is possible for Him to be right beside you and you not recognize Him.