Asking God For Something Big

You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. Psalm 77:14

Some of God’s children live and die and never ask Him for anything big. They live in the ‘safe’ zone. Others do nothing but ask for the miraculous but it would serve them well to make sure they’re asking for the right reason, the ultimate glory of God. Having walked with God for a lifetime, I know that He loves to perform wonders but He waits until I ask. But here’s a warning. When what I need the most intersects my prayer life, logic can nullify my faith if I allow it.

I think of Sarah. Her cycle of womanhood was long over.  Logic.  Science.  These proved that it was humanly impossible to bear a child in old age.  She and Abram had spent the breadth of their marriage asking God to open her womb but at some point, she stopped believing. When the announcement was made that she would have a son, Sarah laughed at the thought of such a physical impossibility.

Miracles aren’t miracles without the ‘impossibility’ factor.  Is this not why faith is so difficult?  We are surrounded by circumstantial physical evidence that disproves feasibility.  If I have a history of not having seen God’s power move on my behalf, then I will always lean toward logic and move away from what seems ludicrous. History controls belief.

What might I ask God for today if all reserve was moved out of the way?  Where would others laugh in my face and rehearse the evidence against faith-filled prayer?

That points precisely, perhaps, to what God would, and can, do. “But you can’t ask God for that!” Satan whispers.  His taunts, like arrows, come at me in thoughts but also through the mouths of friends and family.  He is not above using faithless believers to parrot faithless words.  So few walk by faith and I should remember that the next time a brother or sister in Christ comes with their ‘prudent’ warnings.

God has placed me in many impossible situations throughout my life.  There were times I had to pray for a miracle or there would be some horrible consequence.  For survival’s sake, I hung onto faith, stood in the Word, and prayed for a miracle.  I’d like to say that faith is becoming my default response but I know myself better than that. Faith is hardest when I’ve invested years of prayer into my request.

God defies the odds.  He cares nothing about physics, past evidence, and present obstacles.  He who spoke to the earth, a planet that was once dark and lifeless, and transformed it into a stunning environment full of limitless possibilities, is the same God who can do anything miraculous in my world. There is something more critical to pray for than the request itself ~ that my faith would remain if God says no – or wait.

Lord, show me where I can exercise faith today.  For what should I trust You that defies all odds?  I’ll go there.  In Jesus name, Amen

 

Will He Help Me Again?

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! Psalm 4:1

When I’m in trouble and need someone to help me, I tend to remember the last time I was in distress and who it is God sent to show me compassion and kindness. The memory of it makes my heart long for it to happen again. You’ve heard women say to one another, “When I’m sick, I just want my mother.” Whether our mother is still living or not, the desire for her to care for us like she once did is so real that it can leave us aching. No matter how old we are, if we had a good relationship with our mother, we wish she would always come when we need her.

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Living Through the Lean Years

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.  Psalm 51:4

    What makes a person change his ways?  Consequences.  God entrusts His children with gift after gift.  When they pervert them and use them to invest into a wayward journey, God steps in.  He takes away their comforts so that they feel the pain of deprivation.  All this is to discipline those He loves so that we might be saved and turn back to Him with a whole heart.

Photo illustration by Dale Kalus
Photo illustration by Dale Kalus

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A Little Defensive?

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.  Psalm 51:3-4

The first obstacle humanity faces is to recognize its own guilt.  The second challenge, once recognized, is to own it both personally and publicly.  Rarely do we encounter others who quickly admit to being wrong.  Even when backed into a corner and the guilt is obvious, they can still feign innocence.  I can’t be too hard on them.  Without Jesus, I wouldn’t want to admit to being wrong either.  If my sense of self is fragile, I will feel I can’t afford to be at fault.

If I am addicted to others respect and acceptance, being wrong is not an option.  At all costs, I must talk my way out of situations lest those around me come to the conclusion that I’m guilty.  Self-defense can be developed into a cunning art form.  I can do it so much that acquitting myself with great confidence happens like breathing.

If I am one who has trouble admitting I’ve sinned, I must bring my shaky self to the arms of Christ.  I have not yet understood my sin, the power of the cross, and Christ’s love for me.  I am holding on to a faulty self-righteousness that needs to be surrendered at Calvary.  Admitting guilt does not diminish me, it frees me to enjoy God’s mercy.  Never am I more attractive to others than when humble.

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It’s A Dangerous Business

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me; deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men. For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord, for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Psalm 59:1-4

Christianity is a dangerous enterprise. Jesus has always been a threat to someone’s power or ideology.

There’s a new movie out in the theatres called The Young Messiah. I’ve attended it twice and have been equally moved both times. While fictional, the movie portrays what the 12th year of Jesus life might have looked like. The story starts in Alexandria, Egypt. Jesus and His family had lived there since Joseph was told to take Mary and Jesus away from Judea. You remember that every male child was massacred and Jesus was the only one to survive Herod’s rampage.

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The movie shows the possibility that Jesus spent much of his life in danger, even though young. Joseph and Mary lived with the stress of keeping their son alive. His touch on people was profound even though He was a child. The searing truths He spoke about God exposed evil and those who had an issue with God took issue with Him. The storyline proposes that Jesus raised a dead bird to life and even healed the sick. His compassion for people urged Him to ask His Father in heaven for healing. And it came! News of His spiritual power was hard to keep quiet and threats to annihilate Him were everywhere. Joseph and Mary begged onlookers to keep news of Jesus quiet.

On the one hand, it’s hard to understand why someone who just wants to love God provokes such anger. Worship is a quiet thing and a private endeavor, right? I used to think so. But to love God means to accept the great commission of His Son, Jesus. To convert and to make disciples is to challenge the god of this world, the very one who comes disguised as the respected leader of all man-made religions. To share Jesus is to threaten every other world view, even if done with love and compassion.

I understand, Lord. I’m not called to live as someone who loves You. I’m called to let You live through me. It’s Your life they see. You were hated once and will be hated again and again as Your glory shines through Your servants. Advance Your kingdom in the midst of hatred. In Jesus’ name, Amen

 

 

Do I Really Know My Potential?

DO I REALLY KNOW MY POTENTIAL?

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.  Psalm 92:12-14

Every living thing needs the right environment so it can be all God designed it to be.  Put a fish on a beach and he will slowly die.  A passerby will have no idea that he can swim or have a clue that swimming is in his nature.  He will lie there pathetically, leading others to misunderstand who he is. Put an eagle in water and you will never get to see him soar on wind thermals.  He will sink to the bottom.  Put a panther in a zoo and kids who see him through the glass will never understand that he can run at clocked speeds of 64 mph.  It is only when each of God’s creation lives in his perfect environment that his full potential is released.  Only there can he rise to his spiritual destiny.  Are the wheels turning?

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Training My Fingers For Battle

Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.  Psalm 144:1

You are such a kind Father. You do not send children to the front lines to be annihilated by an enemy who is too strong for them. You’ve given me everything I need to be victorious over any tactic, any scheme, strategy, or plan of the enemy.  While he may be cunning and know me well,  (for he knows where and when to strike), Your weapons are mighty and promise a way of escape.  At the end of the day, I will stand on my feet like David, assessing Goliath, who lay in defeat because he failed to cover a stone-sized piece of exposed forehead.  I anticipate victory today because my weaponry is fashioned by You.

So, make me a soldier.  Train my hands for war.  I am in boot camp.  I am a soldier, not a civilian.  Today, I put on the pieces of armor You have provided for me.  You inspired the Apostle Paul to reveal that You armor is the armor of Light.  It is You, Lord Jesus Christ.

Knight with sword and shield

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Where Are You Hiding?

You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance.  Psalm 32:7

It can be comforting to hide somewhere away from the crowd.  I can avoid someone I dread.  I can regroup when I need the quiet.  I can also conceal myself in order to stay safe.  King David called God His hiding place.  Instead of hiding from God, He hid in God.

Quite a different scenario with Adam however.  He gave the wrong answer when God asked him where he was hiding.  Adam said, “I’m hiding because I’m naked.”  That wasn’t true.  He should have said, “I’m hiding because I disobeyed you.”  The right answer seemed too incriminating.

I’ve avoided God.  I’ve quenched His quiet voice calling out to me.  I’ve kept the noise level around me high to drown Him out.  The more time went by, the harder it was to turn around. Excuses were thin when I stood before a holy God.  “I was busy” didn’t cut it.  Like Adam, I was hiding from the real issue.

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Behind all excuses is usually sin.  I did something I shouldn’t have done.  I believed something about Him that wasn’t true which caused me to distrust His love and faithfulness.  The fracture in our relationship couldn’t be made right until I told the truth outloud.

Sooner or later, every person who hides from God will stand before Him.  They will encounter Him as Judge or Savior.   Those who ran from His presence because they were disobedient children will mourn their choices.  When blinded by the glory of such a wonderful God, they will regret all the small things they hid behind.  Those who ran from His presence because they were enemies of the cross will also mourn their choices.  Like the rich man in Hades, they will see the expanse of an eternity before them that offers no second chances.

And this is the irony ~ I can be consumed today with just a sideways glance of a mere acquaintance.  Thinking something might be wrong, I obsess.  But, am I equally consumed when I sense that things between God and me aren’t right?  Am I willing to do whatever it takes to make it right, starting with the willingness to own the truth?  I will know things are right again when the thought of hiding in God makes me run home.

Sometimes, I haven’t known what was wrong but when I asked, You showed me.  Thank you for all the times You looked for me and called my name.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

The ‘You’ Of Ten Years Ago

Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!  Psalm 43:3

When the Word of God is spoken, the possibility for understanding and then transformation exists.  Whether or not that occurs in the life of a person is dependent on their response to the hearing of the Word.  Understanding what has been spoken depends on the person declaring themselves ‘simple’.  “Lord, I do not have any wisdom about my life apart from you.  I am a dark place without the light of your Word.  Teach me.” To this person, the Word comes as a sword and slices an opening in the soul where the shaft of light can penetrate.  When light touches darkness, the darkness is challenged.  And, if the light is then embraced, the darkness will be transformed.  The heart will be washed with the water of the Word and new thinking and feeling will occur.  In a short time, behavior changes.

Take any disciple who has immersed themselves in the Word over a long period of time and they will tell you that they no longer think like the person who lived a decade ago.  They will, most likely, have a hard time remembering how they were.  This is true of me.  The insecure and fearful woman of my thirties began to discover the life-shaping power of the Word of God and the light of God’s love touched my insecurity.  The strength of God’s character collided with my fear.  I began the journey of healing and am still discovering the cataclysmic effect of what happens when God’s Words unfold inside this simple woman.  Boldness, spiritual understanding, and joy have been the biggest changes.

Light can be soft, enveloping me like a warm blanket.  It can also be blinding and convicting.  No matter how it comes, I must not run from it.  Defending myself against the need of it would be my demise.  Even when it sears, it saves.  Running away for fear of change or exposure is my loss!

What Word do I need today?  Comfort, guidance, assurance of something?  My need exists because I’m aware of a dark place that is in desperate want of the Light.  Need takes me to Jesus’ feet.  Like Mary, I say “teach me”.  The simple student is usually the teacher’s favorite.  Is that not true?  So whatever the Master says, let me be a student that soaks it in like a sponge.

When my heart faints because I have no plan to save myself, I come simply. Let the unfolding of Your Word bring light into my darkness. I live in hope of Your instruction.  In Jesus name, Amen

When Does Abundant Life Begin?

The children of men drink their fill of the abundance of Your house.  You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.  Psalm 36:8

God offers me abundance.  Delightful abundance.  But you might be wondering, “How come I don’t have it yet?”  The promise is predicated upon admissions of need and my understanding of what abundance really is.  For example, to receive forgiveness, I must admit that I’ve sinned.  To receive salvation, I must agree with God that I’m desperately lost.  To receive wisdom, I must acknowledge my foolishness.

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Spiritual bankruptcy is foundational if I want to experience God’s promise of prosperity, abundance, and well-being.  He explained it to the Pharisees in the language of spiritual blindness.  They were contesting every claim He had ever made.  They were denying having any need of Him.  Jesus told them this ~ If you claim to see, then you will remain blind.  But if you know you’re blind, I will give you spiritual sight.  When I deny my need of Him, I deny myself the benefits that come with that relationship.  And I can be sure that I don’t even control my unbelief. Satan sees my arrogance and considers it an open invitation to set up a stronghold in every place where I think I’m okay.  Unbelief metastasizes.

Each of us probably knows the saying, ‘Each man has his blind spots.’  A blind spot is any place where a person fails to admit their vision is skewed.  They can even be eloquent in their defense.  Any of us who have tried to argue with someone in the area of their blindness knows the utter frustration of going round and round and getting nowhere.  This is what Paul refers to in 2 Cor. 10:4-5 when he describes ‘every lofty thought that sets itself up against the truth of God.’  It’s their man-made logic, a kind of iron grid, that is only defeated with the sword of the Spirit tearing down the stronghold of deception.

When the sun rises, I remember that I am a child in the kingdom.  No matter my age, I am still small before God.  No matter my accumulation of knowledge, I still need the renewed mind that only He can fashion.  Abundant life is never where I think it’s going to be.  Narrow is the way that leads there and few there be that discover where abundant begins.

Search my heart.  Shine your light on my blind spots so that I may truly see and live in the abundance of Your divine life.  I want to feel the river of Your delights around my feet.  In Jesus’ name, amen.