Ballsy People

Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.” And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.” “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah replied. “If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won’t.” As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!” And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress. (2 Kings 2:9-12)

Have you the faith to ask the difficult things? Some might see Elisha's request as 'ballsy' - maybe even a little 'prideful' since he asked for a 'double portion' of the faith and power Elijah had exhibited while he was alive. Sometimes 'ballsy' individuals put others off - their simple faith and trust in God making them a little uncomfortable. That's okay because 'ballsy' people aren't afraid to ask God for what is needed, when it is needed, for whom it is needed!

Later on, Elisha would stretch himself out on a dead boy and ask God to restore his life. He would petition with all his heart and trust God to do the rest. He would see the cruse of oil in the widow's house multiplied time and time again. He would see hungry people around him and tell the woman offering twenty loaves of bread and a sack of grain to feed all one hundred of them. She'd question the 'sanity' of that request, but there were leftovers to be enjoyed! Ballsy people ask for the impossible because they know God is the one who is able to do what we see as 'impossible' or 'improbable'.

Ballsy people ask not only for 'one share' of faith, but a 'double share'. They aren't afraid to ask God to make them instruments he can use and to give them his 'backing' as they go forth in service to him. As difficult as it may be to imagine God giving greater faith and trust in his power, ballsy people ask! Why? They know their God and they trust him to be there in them, working through them, meeting the needs of a people who need to come to know him, as well. Elisha wasn't intimidated by the impossible - he knew the God of the impossible and trusted him to be there whenever the need arose. How about us? Do we trust God enough to be 'ballsy' in our faith? If not, maybe it is time we ask God for that 'double portion' and see what he will do. Just sayin!

With or Without - That is the Question

Have you ever just looked at something and thought what was ahead of you was absolutely impossible? We all probably face that overwhelming feeling on occasion. What we don't want is to not move forward just because we think something is impossible. Arthur C. Clarke reminds us, "The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible." When we do what we know to do, God takes us beyond the 'possible' into the 'impossible'.

“What is impossible for people is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)

As we move right along in our new year, we may have faced a few things we have already labeled as "impossible" - not because we haven't 'tried' to make a go of them, but because we faced many a roadblock when we did. Roadblocks aren't always there to stop us - sometimes they just slow us down and get us to take a different route we didn't already consider. When God is at the helm of our lives, we can be assured that each roadblock is just that. He stops us long enough to get us to consider the route he has planned for us. 

Look again at that passage. It might be impossible for us, but WITH God, there are innumerable possibilities that open up before us. We might fail in our own power, but WITH God, failure isn't an option. The 'impossible' seems to be unfathomable. We just don't 'see a way'. What we need in those moments isn't our own 'vision' or 'perspective' on the matter. We need God's! We need to see what he sees. How does this happen? When we stop trying to do it WITHOUT God and start doing it WITH him. Too many times we work 'counter' to what God desires - because we imagine our own efforts to be sufficient. Sadly, they rarely are. 

With or without - this is really the question today. Will we face the impossibilities WITH God, or without him? If we want to find ourselves ever moving past those roadblocks, we might just want to consider doing it WITH him! Just sayin!

How about you?

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; 

Truth isn't. (Mark Twain)

Truth isn't limited to the possible - it transcends it. So many of us focus on what we see as 'possible' rather than looking toward what may seem a little impossible to us. We limit ourselves by the 'belief' that we are 'limited' to what is possible - based upon our talents, status, upbringing, or training. I never knew riding a two-wheeler would be so hard, but after a few falls and a whole lot of wobbly attempts, I was able to realize the 'impossible'. That one 'skill' allowed me to be 'mobile' like I never could be just on foot. If I had of looked at that old Schwinn two-wheeler and my brother's assistance as though they were going to harm me, I never would have got up on that thing. Sometimes we have to put aside our 'belief' that something is impossible if we are ever to move beyond into the possible.

Learn the truth and never reject it. Get wisdom, self-control, and understanding. (Proverbs 23:23)

One of the greatest things we can do is push beyond our lack of understanding - God's answers await those who are willing to seek truth. Learn truth and never reject it - why? Truth will never limit us as much as our own understanding. If we limit ourselves to what we understand, we are saying we only count on what is possible. As we enter into a relationship with God, we are actually moving into the impossible - because none of us actually deserves to enter into his presence. We enter in because the way has been opened through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus - the impossible became the possible. As we seek God's wisdom, we may just be surprised by what we call the impossible becoming the possible in our lives.

Love and truth bring forgiveness of sin. By respecting the Lord you will avoid evil. (Proverbs 16:6)

Love and truth - together they bring grace - the forgiveness of our sin. Not only forgiveness, but 'release' from a debt we could never repay. If God could extend grace to the undeserving sinner, what makes us think he could not open doors that we see no way of opening? Truth has to be embraced - we have to enter into it fully. It is by embracing truth and his love that we begin to step out of the impossible and into the possible. I never thought I could resist evil in my life - sin came naturally to me. In being embraced by truth, allowing truth to embrace me fully, I am able to move beyond my sinfulness and walk in his grace. How about you? Just askin...

Oh, go fly a kite!

It was Vince Lombardi who said we'd accomplish a great many more things in life if we stopped thinking of them as "impossible". At times, I think we imagine ourselves as never making it to some destination we have in mind - especially when it comes to our walk with Jesus. We won't take the right steps, believe the right stuff, or make right decisions when it really matters. This is how we see ourselves at times and this can be quite defeating because sometimes we won't even try when we feel there is an "impossibility" in trying.

It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 MSG)

Lewis Mumford said, "A certain amount of opposition is a great help to man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind." Too many times we view the "hard stuff" as "opposition" in life. We don't want to face anything that "opposes" us because it suggests a degree of "difficulty" we dread. I can't tell you how many kites I have built in my lifetime, adjusting this or that on the kite, adding just a little longer tail, or trimming away a little, just to get that kite airborne and watch it sail so effortlessly in the sky. What most don't realize is all the effort was really "up front" of it sailing!

The first step in the right direction, in embracing new learning, is to face the opposition ahead of us. It may be the opposition of our own beliefs, fears, or pride. It could be a more "external" opposition we really cannot control all that well, but which we will have to face if we are to ever make forward progress. It is quite possible we have viewed things in our life as impossible for so long we no longer even imagine there will be a "first step". What comes of believing the impossible is possible? Is it false hope? No! It is the beginning of the kite's rise!

God exists. He cares for our needs. There is a connection between these two - "and". We may be convinced he exists, but are we equally convinced he cares for those who seek him? Seeking doesn't end the moment we say "yes" to Jesus. It begins! It is there that the winds which will carry us to new heights begin to blow. The kite rises in opposition to the wind - apart from the wind, the kite is a decorative object! We aren't in this world as mere decorative objects. We are to be kites soaring higher and higher, taking from the opposition we face the very thing we need to help us climb higher. Just sayin!