Devotionals by Dr. M. Craig Barnes
Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money -- not even an extra tunic. --
I used to spend a lot of time backpacking on wilderness trails. One of the cardinal rules of this activity is that you have to be equipped for crisis and bad weather. One of the temptations is to be overly equipped for comfort. If you overstuff the backpack, it won't be long on the journey before your shoulders and back hurt like crazy. When you're carrying too much weight, you walk very slowly, tilted forward, with your head bent down toward the ground.
Maybe that is why Jesus sent his disciples on a preaching and healing mission so ill prepared. There was nothing in their bags, and thus nothing on their backs. That means they had to trust God for protection and even for their next meal. Of course, that is exactly what Jesus wanted. But it also means that the disciples must have enjoyed their journey a lot more. With their heads held high, certainly the view was a whole lot better. That is also what Jesus wanted.
We have learned to be very well equipped for the journey through life. Overly equipped. We just keep piling up more and more stuff we think we need. But it all weighs heavily upon our souls. Eventually we are thinking more about the burden on our backs than we are the journey. If you really want to enjoy the view along the way in life, you'll have to trust less in your backpack and more in your prayers.
-- Craig Barnes