Nothing excites me more than to hear someone say that they want to live all-out for the Lord Jesus. My pastoral heart moves toward them and Judy and I start pouring our lives into them.
There’s always some initial excitement and a lot of marvelous reports concerning God’s powerful movement in everyday life.
“You wouldn’t believe what’s happening at work. I’ve only been praying for this guy for two days. Out of nowhere he said, ‘Tell me about your church.’”
“We had no idea how we would survive if we gave what we felt God was telling us to give to the church. But we did it. The next day my boss came in to tell me that she was so pleased with my work that he had decided to give me a promotion.”
Even as the reports bubble out I’m always praying for them because I know what’s coming.
God is going to test their faith.
They’ve been living at that precipice of the Christian life that God insists upon if we want to experience His power. The precipice of radical trust, that place we live where we know that if He doesn’t show up, we’re sunk.
Some shrink back from that radical edge of life to the safety of their comfort zone, and it’s tragic. Soon they will be wondering what happened, why their Christian life isn’t as exhilarating as it use to be.
Others will keep on trusting Him, pass the test, and move on to the live they always wanted, the life Jesus wanted them to live and their redeemed heart longs for.
How about you? Is God asking you to trust Him for something big? Something that intimidates you? Something that doesn’t make sense to your friends? Something that will make you look stupid if He doesn’t show up?
Do it!
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
Question: What scares you most about doing this big thing God is asking you to do?
God is greater than all of our fondest hopes and expectations. He who created all is greater than all. He loves us infinitely regardless of our faults, and He will do more for us than we could ask or think.
He is. And thanks for the comment. His grace is indeed greater than our weaknesses.