...it must be the right thing to do.
Scary, but true!
When you are doing all you can to follow God and trust Him and you get that little inkling to do something so counter-intuitive that you feel that to follow that inkling would not only make you but also those around you question your sanity...start looking for the miracles to follow!
You see it time and again in the scriptures:
--marching around a city in silence for 7 days then blowing your horns
--a young boy with a few stones taking on a giant
--barrels full of water dousing the potential sacrificial pile
--one man taking on the Egyptian nation, demanding that the pharoah let his people go
You see it in history:
--Joan of Arc and her historically-documented, logic-defying success
--Ghandi and his peaceful resistance
--George Washington leading a rag-tag army against the mightiest nation on earth
--Mother Theresa changing the world through simple acts of love
Did you ever think of what was going through the mind of those faith-driven, humble people the moment before their faith was validated? I have!
--"What if this doesn't work?"
--"What do others think of me?"
--"What will my spouse or family think of me?"
--"What if I am wrong?"
And then they act. And the miracles unfold...and usually in far greater fashion than anyone but God could have realized.
Did Moses realize the scope of the miracles God would rain down from heaven?
Did David realize it would just take one stone to fell Goliath?
Did Elijah realize that not only would the sacrifice light on fire, but that a huge pillar of fire would blast out of heaven to consume everything?
Did Joshua realize that he would never have to lift a weapon to take down Jericho?
Think of Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego..."we trust God will save us, but if not..."
What are we afraid of? Maybe the only "failure" we need fear is the failure that truly matters...the failure to follow and trust God..
One of my all-time most life-changing influences came to me in a small, unseeming package: "Gideon: The Tuba Warrior." Yes, it is a Veggie Tale movie. It is a movie about a man (or pickle, in this case), Gideon, who feels inadequate to God's calling. A faithful man who, despite his knowledge that the messenger standing before him is an angel, still demands a specific sign to prove the message is of God...two signs actually, back to back.
Then this faithful man is led to behold the enemy, a huge force. Gideon is then told to gather as many men as he can, which he does. That makes sense, right? Then the prophet tells him to send home all those that really don't want to be there. One third leave. Then the prophet tells him to send home all the men that lap the water up like dogs when they go to drink. One third again leaves. With a mere 300 men, Gideon takes on the army.
Do you think he was saying to himself the same thing Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego were saying, "...but if not..."?
Look around. What things do you feel God nudging you to do that just doesn't make sense. Satan will always make sense. In fact, he is very convincing at it. It is how he leads so many astray. Many of us don't realize that there is no middle ground of choice: we can only choose the way of God or the way of Mammon.
Move forward. Act, and tell yourself, "...but if not..." is still worth it, because it is in acting that we actually do what needs to be done. As Gideon found out, God doesn't expect us to win on our own. In fact, He can handle it. We just need to know how much we can trust Him, how amazing His ways are, and how strong is our own faith. He knows. He just wants to show us, as well.
Scary, but true!
When you are doing all you can to follow God and trust Him and you get that little inkling to do something so counter-intuitive that you feel that to follow that inkling would not only make you but also those around you question your sanity...start looking for the miracles to follow!
You see it time and again in the scriptures:
--marching around a city in silence for 7 days then blowing your horns
--a young boy with a few stones taking on a giant
--barrels full of water dousing the potential sacrificial pile
--one man taking on the Egyptian nation, demanding that the pharoah let his people go
You see it in history:
--Joan of Arc and her historically-documented, logic-defying success
--Ghandi and his peaceful resistance
--George Washington leading a rag-tag army against the mightiest nation on earth
--Mother Theresa changing the world through simple acts of love
Did you ever think of what was going through the mind of those faith-driven, humble people the moment before their faith was validated? I have!
--"What if this doesn't work?"
--"What do others think of me?"
--"What will my spouse or family think of me?"
--"What if I am wrong?"
And then they act. And the miracles unfold...and usually in far greater fashion than anyone but God could have realized.
Did Moses realize the scope of the miracles God would rain down from heaven?
Did David realize it would just take one stone to fell Goliath?
Did Elijah realize that not only would the sacrifice light on fire, but that a huge pillar of fire would blast out of heaven to consume everything?
Did Joshua realize that he would never have to lift a weapon to take down Jericho?
Think of Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego..."we trust God will save us, but if not..."
What are we afraid of? Maybe the only "failure" we need fear is the failure that truly matters...the failure to follow and trust God..
One of my all-time most life-changing influences came to me in a small, unseeming package: "Gideon: The Tuba Warrior." Yes, it is a Veggie Tale movie. It is a movie about a man (or pickle, in this case), Gideon, who feels inadequate to God's calling. A faithful man who, despite his knowledge that the messenger standing before him is an angel, still demands a specific sign to prove the message is of God...two signs actually, back to back.
Then this faithful man is led to behold the enemy, a huge force. Gideon is then told to gather as many men as he can, which he does. That makes sense, right? Then the prophet tells him to send home all those that really don't want to be there. One third leave. Then the prophet tells him to send home all the men that lap the water up like dogs when they go to drink. One third again leaves. With a mere 300 men, Gideon takes on the army.
Do you think he was saying to himself the same thing Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego were saying, "...but if not..."?
Look around. What things do you feel God nudging you to do that just doesn't make sense. Satan will always make sense. In fact, he is very convincing at it. It is how he leads so many astray. Many of us don't realize that there is no middle ground of choice: we can only choose the way of God or the way of Mammon.
Move forward. Act, and tell yourself, "...but if not..." is still worth it, because it is in acting that we actually do what needs to be done. As Gideon found out, God doesn't expect us to win on our own. In fact, He can handle it. We just need to know how much we can trust Him, how amazing His ways are, and how strong is our own faith. He knows. He just wants to show us, as well.