Has God ever asked something of you that didn’t seem to make much sense? I encourage you to obey, anyway. He knows what he’s doing.
obey God
Do the Impossible (Prayer Devotional for the week of November 29, 2015)
Think of something that you do really well for the Lord. For example, perhaps you volunteer in the nursery on rotating Sunday mornings: playing with babies or doing arts & crafts is right up your alley. If you felt like God was calling you to step up your game and volunteer more often or take some sort of leadership role, it wouldn’t sound too crazy, right? Or, maybe you serve as a greeter and enjoy welcoming visitors each week. If God compelled you to do a little more in that area, it wouldn’t be too much to ask, would it?
But, what about when you feel that tell-tale nudge on your heart from the Holy Spirit prompting you to do something wayyyy outside of your comfort zone, like share your testimony in front of the church, give a gift bigger than you’ve ever donated before, or go on a missions trip?
We all need to use our spiritual gifts and our natural skills & talents to serve the Lord, but when it comes to doing the impossible – those breakthrough moments that you look back on in awe because you know without a shadow of a doubt that God did something miraculous – that takes a leap of faith.
In my experience, God tells us to do impossible things in our areas of weakness. If he only worked through our strong suits, then I think we would be tempted to take the credit for ourselves. (“Look at what a great thing I did, and by the way, God helped.”)
When God calls you to do impossible things, you either obey, or you don’t. There’s no middle ground. Case in point, read the parable of the rich man (Matthew 19, Luke 18, or Mark 10). He had a solid track record for doing good, religious things; however, when Jesus instructed him to do the seemingly impossible, he balked. He had the opportunity right in his lap to see God move in a miraculous way, but his pride kept him from obeying.
May we not be like the man in that parable, who missed out on the chance to be part of something much, much bigger than himself. God is at work all around us, each and every day. May we be observant and sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s nudging to get involved, even when it seems impossible.
Our Year in Review (Prayer Devotional for the week of December 28, 2014)
Facebook has a slideshow feature where it takes your popular posts from the previous year and creates a highlight reel to share with your friends. It was interesting to walk down memory lane and revisit all the adventures that have taken place in 2014: graduation, a new job, a cross-country move, our first “real” winter … a lot of things have happened!
A year ago, I was up to my eyeballs with my dissertation, hoping the end was in sight. Ecclesiastes 12:12b (CEV) came to mind, as I thought about those months of research & writing: “There is no end to books, and too much study will wear you out.” Ha! That’s certainly how I felt, at that time. Now, that’s all behind me, and the tables are turned – I’m the one doling out assignments, not the one doing homework!
2014 was a roller coaster of emotions for me. It was nerve-wracking, at times, but also exciting. There have been other years – 2009 comes to mind right away – that were more dreadful than joyful, and I couldn’t wait for the calendar to turn. Maybe your 2014 wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Perhaps you are anxious for the year to be finished, so you can put it behind you. I can empathize, but take heart!
Maybe 2015 is your year for a Do Over. Perhaps you need a fresh start, a new beginning, a clean slate. We may not be able to have a Do Over in every area of our lives, but we can certainly get the New Year off to a great start, spiritually speaking. Lamentations 3:21-23 reminds us that God’s mercies are new every morning. We don’t need to jumpstart the year with fireworks and a midnight toast to take advantage of God’s Do Over offer. We can start anew TODAY.
While I got a good laugh out of Ecclesiastes 12:12 mentioned above, the rest of that chapter really hits home, as we think about the coming New Year. The author writes in verses 13-14 (CEV): “Everything you were taught can be put into a few words: Respect and obey God! This is what life is all about. God will judge everything we do, even what is done in secret, whether good or bad.”
Instead of dwelling on what might have gone wrong in 2014, let’s focus on honoring God in 2015. Just imagine what He can do!!
faith, sweat & tears 