When God calls us to something new, our first instinct is often to focus on what we lack—our insecurities, fear of rejection, or the possibility of failure. But Matthew 10 reminds us that confidence in God's calling is rooted not in our abilities but in His presence, power, and purpose. Jesus sent His disciples out with authority, without micromanaging their flaws. His instruction? Be wise, stay pure, and keep moving forward—even in the face of rejection.

If you’ve ever felt unqualified or hesitant to pursue a new opportunity, this devotional reminds you that godly confidence is less about perfection and more about obedience. Shake off the dust, trust your calling, and walk boldly into your next assignment.

Highlights

✨ God doesn’t wait for perfection—He works through our obedience.
✨ The disciples were imperfect but sent anyway. So are we.
✨ Jesus’ instruction to "shake off the dust" is a bold reminder: don’t carry rejection into your next opportunity.
✨ Confidence in God’s call means focusing more on His power than our past mistakes.
✨ Like the disciples, we are chosen, equipped, and sent to make an impact.

Join the Conversation

Have you ever shaken the dust off and stepped out in faith, even when you felt unqualified? Share your story with us and encourage someone else! Tag us @lifeaudionetwork and use #CalledWithConfidence to join the conversation.

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Full Transcript Below:

Pursuing Opportunities with Godly Confidence 

by Jennifer Slattery

As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Matthew 10:12-16

When God invites you to something new, what usually comes to mind first—His empowering and guiding presence within you, or your weaknesses and potential inability to meet the challenges ahead? I’ve shared in other episodes how, when I first sensed the call to speak and write, I felt incredibly anxious, for numerous reasons. Fear of failure, of rejection, or responding to potential rejection in unhealthy ways … In short, I overly focused on myself and under focused on the power and presence of the One calling me. 

Perhaps that’s why I find Jesus’ instructions to the disciples in Matthew 10 so thought-provoking and encouraging. To paraphrase, about a year into His ministry, the Lord officially chose the 12 disciples to, according to Mark 3:13-15, spend time with Him, to preach, and to cast out demons. He then demonstrated how to do the very things He’d soon assign to them. They listened to His teaching on the beatitudes, forgiveness, and prayer. They watched Him heal the masses and set the demonized free. 

Then, what seems like months later, if that long, He gathered these previously untrained men together, gave them the power and authority to advance God’s kingdom, then sent them out to talk to strangers. About religion, and to find someone, again, a stranger, with whom to stay, for as long as the person allowed. 

How’s that for a job assignment? 

That would’ve taken significant courage. Granted, they lived in a culture in which people were accustomed to hosting travelers, but still. 

I admire their gumption in obeying, seemingly without protest—although based on Mark 3, they knew what they were getting into when they accepted Jesus’ invite. Then again, we probably did, as well. Following Jesus means learning to live as He did, while on earth. 

Yet, that’s not what most strikes me about this event. I’m intrigued by the instructions Jesus didn’t give. We don’t see Him pulling Simon Peter, the Foot-in-Mouth guy aside to encourage him to listen more and talk less. Nor does the Bible show Him addressing James’s and John’s temper. If you’re familiar with Scripture, you might remember their nickname, sons of thunder, and the time they wanted to send fire from heaven to destroy a Samarian village. 

Instead, He focused on the possible reactions displayed by those they encountered. He called those who responded positively to His message “worthy”, or, as the NIV states, “deserving” and therefore, allies. Those who rejected it, on the other hand, He termed “unworthy.”     

Then, as if emphasizing this, He said, in Matthew 10:14, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet” (NIV).

This held cultural relevance well-understood by first century Jews. To quote Bible scholar Craig Keener, “Pious Jewish people returning to holy ground would not want even the dust of pagan territory clinging to their sandals.” This indicates that Jesus wanted the disciples to consider those who spurned their message as Gentiles, and to, in essence, shake off the experience. 

He didn’t want them to ruminate on any rejection they experienced or all the ways they’d “failed.” That doesn’t mean the disciples fulfilled their mission perfectly. Nothing in Scripture indicates that was even a remote possibility. The Bible demonstrates, in numerous places, that they were often faithless, at times prideful and focused on elevating themselves rather than Almighty God. 

They were about as perfect, or rather, imperfect, as me and you. Yet, again, He told them to “shake off the dust”. To not let the reactions of equally imperfect humans hinder their confidence or mission. Instead, they were to embrace every encounter as chosen, called and empowered children of God who carried the authority of Christ.   

Intersecting Life and Faith

Imagine what our lives, ministries and impact might look like if we lived anchored in those same truths. When God presents us with a new assignment, we experience setbacks, or people don’t respond to us and our efforts as we’d hoped, what if we honestly acknowledged our errors, but did so with our souls filled with the Lord’s grace. 

In other words, what if we gave God’s power and presence at work within us more emphasis than our weaknesses and mistakes? That’s not to say we shouldn’t address and learn from our blunders and flaws, but that we view them from a growth mindset and refused to carry the figurative “dust” of yesterday to thwart our obedience and calling. 

Further Reading:

Romans 12:6-8

Mark 16:15

Ephesians 2:10

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