Don't be pushed around!
It would definitely be appropriate to ask, "What are you imagining God will do for you today?" There are lots of us who face each day with all these agenda items that we have laid out for ourselves and others, all the while being pretty oblivious to what it is that God is preparing for our day instead. We also go to God with huge desires, but somehow we think God's plan to meet those desires is to do it in a smaller, or less significant way than we are imagining in our hearts and minds. Both ways of facing life are equally riddled with issues - if not because of how much control we want, then with the limits we are putting on God. When we exclude God from our plans, we open ourselves up to failure that really doesn't need to be there in our lives. When we limit God by our lack of faith, we do not fully appreciate the magnificence of his love for us and how that love would design moments we need - not just the ones we want.
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. (Ephesians 3:20-21 MSG)
God CAN do anything - it is not that he has limitations in being able to 'do' when we don't see answers to our prayers - it may be that WE are limiting him in some way. Wildest dreams aren't always bad things - some might even think of them as their faith on overdrive! There have been times when hear all those reports that tell us something is just not possible. When we have the faith to take that need or 'impossible thing' to God, openly admitting that we are not totally sure how he will do it, or that we might not completely believe it is possible, he has been set free to act FULLY on our behalf. Even when we are not 'comfortable' handing it all over to him, he is gracious in his love toward us and willingly works with even the smallest measure of our trust. God works WITHIN us to accomplish the thing we desire. He doesn't work WITHOUT us! We have to be on the same page with him. If we are ahead or behind, it makes it difficult for him to fulfill our "wildest dreams" - we find our lives a little out of sync. If we are not willing to acknowledge him IN the midst of our need, how will we be able to acknowledge him as the one who is at work meeting that need?
God does his work within us, but not by pushing his way into our busy lives, or by demanding his way be immediately obeyed. He moves into where he is welcomed and where he is free to act beyond our limited understanding or comprehension. When he is welcomed with an open heart and yielded spirit, there is much he can do with even the tiniest bit of trust (faith). We might imagine trust needs to be 'entire', or fully formed, in order for God to do anything in or through us, but the truth is just the opposite. He takes even the smallest 'seed' of faith (trust) and begins to work with that seed. Remember, mustard-seed faith is all God ever expected of us - we might want it to be mountain-sized faith before we act upon what he is doing within our lives, but if we'd learn to act upon the much smaller 'seed-sized' faith, we might just find ourselves in a better place!
Anything - that is what we refer to as God's capabilities on our behalf. Absolutely anything you could imagine or ever dream possible - and God can work with what we imagine or dream when we give it to him. What are you believing God for today? Healing of your weary emotions? Deliverance from some lingering habit? Restoration of a relationship? NOTHING is impossible with God - ANYTHING is possible when he is given the opportunity to move on our behalf. Begin to trust him with your wildest imaginations - then stand back and see how he begins to move in your life. It will amaze you what God can do in and through a yielded life! Dreams aren't bad things. Imagination isn't a thing to be shut down. We aren't going to be pushed to do - we are going to be asked to do and supported as we begin to do it. God is always able to work with a seed-sized trust that is willing to take the first step toward that dream. Just sayin!
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. (Ephesians 3:20-21 MSG)
God CAN do anything - it is not that he has limitations in being able to 'do' when we don't see answers to our prayers - it may be that WE are limiting him in some way. Wildest dreams aren't always bad things - some might even think of them as their faith on overdrive! There have been times when hear all those reports that tell us something is just not possible. When we have the faith to take that need or 'impossible thing' to God, openly admitting that we are not totally sure how he will do it, or that we might not completely believe it is possible, he has been set free to act FULLY on our behalf. Even when we are not 'comfortable' handing it all over to him, he is gracious in his love toward us and willingly works with even the smallest measure of our trust. God works WITHIN us to accomplish the thing we desire. He doesn't work WITHOUT us! We have to be on the same page with him. If we are ahead or behind, it makes it difficult for him to fulfill our "wildest dreams" - we find our lives a little out of sync. If we are not willing to acknowledge him IN the midst of our need, how will we be able to acknowledge him as the one who is at work meeting that need?
God does his work within us, but not by pushing his way into our busy lives, or by demanding his way be immediately obeyed. He moves into where he is welcomed and where he is free to act beyond our limited understanding or comprehension. When he is welcomed with an open heart and yielded spirit, there is much he can do with even the tiniest bit of trust (faith). We might imagine trust needs to be 'entire', or fully formed, in order for God to do anything in or through us, but the truth is just the opposite. He takes even the smallest 'seed' of faith (trust) and begins to work with that seed. Remember, mustard-seed faith is all God ever expected of us - we might want it to be mountain-sized faith before we act upon what he is doing within our lives, but if we'd learn to act upon the much smaller 'seed-sized' faith, we might just find ourselves in a better place!
Anything - that is what we refer to as God's capabilities on our behalf. Absolutely anything you could imagine or ever dream possible - and God can work with what we imagine or dream when we give it to him. What are you believing God for today? Healing of your weary emotions? Deliverance from some lingering habit? Restoration of a relationship? NOTHING is impossible with God - ANYTHING is possible when he is given the opportunity to move on our behalf. Begin to trust him with your wildest imaginations - then stand back and see how he begins to move in your life. It will amaze you what God can do in and through a yielded life! Dreams aren't bad things. Imagination isn't a thing to be shut down. We aren't going to be pushed to do - we are going to be asked to do and supported as we begin to do it. God is always able to work with a seed-sized trust that is willing to take the first step toward that dream. Just sayin!
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