Shake Off the Dust

Jesus told his disciples to shake the dust off their feet when people didn’t receive God’s word. Shaking of the dust of their feet was a sign that that those people were going to be judged by God (Matthew 10:14-15).

However, shaking off the dust of their feet is more than a symbol of impending judgment.

Shaking off the dust points to something important for the health of Jesus’ own disciples.

When the disciples were rejected, it wasn’t easy. They were taunted, mocked, persecuted, and beaten.

We will face hard experiences in life. To move on from these experiences successfully, we need to learn to shake the dust off our feet.

Jesus didn’t want his disciples to be clouded over by difficulties.Rather than wallowing in misery because they were persecuted or rejected, Jesus wanted them to shake that dust off their feet and move forward.

We shouldn’t let the dust of hard experiences cling to us.

We don’t need to carry the dust of those difficulties into the future.

Dust makes us dirty. We need to shake that dust off. Forget the things that are behind and press forward into what lies before us.

When people reject us or persecute us, we need to forgive them. Don’t hold anger, bitterness, or unforgiveness in our hearts. This is like spiritual dirt that will hinder us. Shake this dust off.

God doesn’t want us standing on the ground of rejection. He doesn’t want us to define ourselves as bad people who have been condemned or judged by others. People may have rejected you, but this doesn’t define who you are. You are accepted in the beloved. You are standing on the rock that is Jesus Christ. Go forward into the bright future God has for you.

Shaking the dust off your feet means not standing on the pain of the past. Walk forward. Don’t drag the things of the past into the present. Shake off the dust of your feet. Walk forward into what God has for you, casting all your burdens on the Lord, because he cares for you.

Shaking off the dust of our feet is important for our spiritual health.

Sometimes we need to let people go. We should not keep banging against a brick wall. Try to share truth with people, but if they don’t accept the truth, shake the dust off and move on. There are other people are hungry to hear the word of God and desperate to get the deliverance and peace that can only come from Jesus.Move forward to those people.

Shaking off the dust of our feet also points to the fact that we should not compromise the truth in order to win people to God. Don’t allow their false teachings or ideologies to cling to you. Don’t sin in order to gain favor with the world. Don’t go along to get along. Shake the dust of the world off and keep walking with God.

God promises to go before us. He has an awesome plan. In order to fulfill that plan, we need to learn to shake the dust off our feet. Don’t be held back by the past. Move forward into the future. With God all things are possible.