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“And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum…” (Matthew 4:13)
 
Pray and ask God to take you to your Capernaum. Capernaum literally means Village of Nahum. Capernaum was the city on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was the place where Jesus moved to at the beginning of His ministry. Matthew 4:13, 17, “And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Nazareth was where Jesus grew up and when it was time for Him to begin His ministry, Jesus had to move out of Nazareth. Nazareth was in His beginning, but it wasn’t His end according to God‘s purpose. Have you been considering your place of growth as your route for direction? Has it become your comfort zone? Think of this: your place of growth might be your place of rejection and not of election. As much as Jesus was often referred to as Jesus Christ of Nazareth, He could not have started His ministry any other place better than Capernaum. Matthew 13: 54, “When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?’” The Bible was talking about His coming to Nazareth where he grew up. Jesus’ teaching was too much for them to handle because truth is threatening and truth can also be bitter to taste or take in. “So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.’ 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”(Matthew 13:57-58) Jesus, the One that was in the beginning, sees the end from the beginning. He left Nazareth for Capernaum for Him to get in tune with the Father. Nazareth was not the place for Him and Nazareth could have replaced His assignment for Him. Whether you like it or not, where you are disrespected, you will also be unappreciated for who you are or what you do. It is the anointing you appreciate that will work for you. They did not appreciate Jesus; they gave no honor to Him. The Bible testifies, “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” They did not appreciate the anointing in His life. However, it is the anointing that is appreciated that works for a believer. There is always a need to cue into the beginning so as to get started and continue as the Lord purposed it. Jesus’ arrival at Capernaum set in motion where He was going and, “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ’Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Matthew 4:17) The purpose and plan for every believer is to be preaching the news of the kingdom that is at hand. Any other business outside of it is on the side. When are you going to move to your Capernaum? The calling of God is not to be comfortable where you have been spending all your life, neither is it about continuing to do what you like, the calling of God is to move you to His ordain strategic location. When there is a failure to move, God will move you to a place that will set in motion His plan for your life. Jonah failed to move in God’s direction but God put him in a place where Jonah could respond to God’s plan. Jonah 1:17, “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” You have two choices: take the Jonah’s road, or Jesus’ road. Jesus did many miracles in Capernaum, but it was evident in Jesus’ statement that few followed Him when He said in Matthew 11:23, “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to hades; for if the mighty works were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.”
 ~Your journey’s end~
As a final note, Capernaum represented the headquarters of Jesus’ ministry because it was where he began His ministry, but it was not His final destination. Just as Capernaum wasn’t the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, so Capernaum is not the end of your journey. It is only the beginning, a starting ground that must be in place to get you to where He is taking you. Be sensitive to the move of the Spirit of God in your life and you will get to where He is taking you.
 
Pray before you plan and not plan before you pray
When you fail to take your plans to Him in prayer, your plans will fail to prevail.
‘Tunde