What Mary Knew

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. Luke 1:38 (NLT)

I love this verse. Mary was facing a huge life altering event. Her world as she knew it was about to drastically change and not necessarily for the better. The road was going to be hard. There were going to be many uncertain times. She herself was going to face criticism and heartache. And her response to God? “Whatever you want.”

I kind of get it though. This was HUGE! I mean, when we are facing HUGE, we tend to turn to God right? We lose our job, we seek God. We get a bad health diagnosis, we seek God. Someone dies. We seek God. We tend to seek God in the HUGE because we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we can’t do this alone.

I do that. I run to God for the HUGE. But on the things I can do by myself……Well, I can handle that and I don’t. I would say I forget but most of the time I don’t even think about it. I just do what I know to do and take care of it.

This isn’t what God wants though. He wants us to come to him all the time, for everything. He wants us to talk through our day with him and process what’s next. Even if we know what to do and how to handle it, he wants in on the action. He wants us to add him to the mix.

A planning meeting? Let God be part of the planning. A conversation with a colleague or friend? Pray through that and get his perspective. A packed day full of meetings and tasks? Ask God to order your priorities.

God wants to be part of everything we do. He doesn’t want to be pulled out for the HUGE stuff only. He wants to be involved in every detail of our lives. You know, I think when we talk to God about the small stuff, it’s easier to trust him with the big stuff.

I bet Mary knew this from experience.

Wanting More

17 The Lord replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name.”
18 Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.”
19 The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. 20 But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.” 21 The Lord continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock. 22 As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.” Exodus 33:17-23 (NLT)

Moses and God had been having a conversation. God was ready to walk away from the Israelites. Moses was talking to him about how important it was that God go with them. Moses wanted a reassurance that God would be with them on the journey.

This reminds me so much of my conversations with God. “God, I know you want me to do this but I need to know that you are in it. I need assurances.”

God responded to Moses’ request for an assurance in an amazing way. Moses could not fully look at God and live. None of us can. God knew this and because he loved Moses and wanted to protect him, he allowed him to see a much diminished version of his glory. He took Moses from where he stood and put him in a place where Moses would be protected.

I don’t know about you but I, like Moses, always want to see more of God. I want to know he’s in this messy life with me. It’s almost like I want him to prove he is there. Admittedly, I probably want more than I can handle. If God answered my prayers and showed me all I told him I wanted to see, I would most likely not survive the event.

And our gracious God knows this. He could just say “Look, you won’t be able to handle it.” But he doesn’t. He shows us who he is in ways we can handle. He shows up so just like Moses we see enough to know it’s him but not so much we are overcome. He demonstrates his love and protection for us so we understand we are loved and that he is protecting us.

Moses’ experience with God did not end in this one encounter. He caught glimpses of who God was all throughout his life. So do we. Knowing God is not a one-time thing. It’s on ongoing adventure. You know the thing I love the most about this? Each time I experience him, it is just as life altering as it was every other time! And each time I am left wanting more.

Is It Enough?

A minute in God’s Word will change your life. Take a moment to read the text below and then answer the questions at the bottom of the post.

1 One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”

2 “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”

“Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied.

3 And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. 4 Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.”

5 So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. 6 Soon every container was full to the brim!

“Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons.

“There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing.

7 When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.” 2 Kings 4:1-7 (NLT)

What resources did the widow have to help her out of her situation?
What one word would you use to describe how she must have felt?
When she went to Elisha, do you think she imagined that he would answer her as he did?
If you were the widow, what would you have thought about his suggestion?
When God provided for her, did he provide enough?
Does God’s provision ever fall short?

Both And

Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Luke 24:27 (NLT)

Can you imagine it? Walking along the road, discussing the day’s events and Jesus walks up and starts a conversation with you? Can you imagine how that would feel? As they discussed the latest news and how heavy their hearts were, Jesus engages. Later they said that their hearts were on fire as he talked to them.

What I find really interesting is that he doesn’t just say “Here I am! It’s me, there is nothing to fear.” Instead he takes them through Scripture. He goes back and shows them all the foundational things said by God through humans. He grounds them in truth.

Later in this chapter, he does the same thing with the disciples. He shows up and blows them away with his presence. They are dumb-founded and amazed. But instead of saying “Well, now you’ve seen me you are good to go”, he points them to Scripture. Again taking them through the things that pointed to him. He cemented their experience with the Scripture.

Just like then, we often get to encounter Jesus in our lives and our walks. We have experiences where we understand that he is revealing himself to us. It’s exciting and motivating and profound. As awesome as that is, we can’t stop there. We have to be grounded in Scripture.

Our walk has to be a balance of heart and head. If we have only an experiential knowledge of Christ or only an intellectual knowledge of Christ, we will be off balance. We need to have both. We need to experience him and understand him through Scriptures.

Jesus set this example for us long ago with the early disciples. Now, we as his disciples need to continue the practice. How are you experiencing Jesus today? How are you grounding yourself in his Word?

Anticipating Your Answer

I will climb up to my watchtower
    and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
Habakkuk 2:1 (NLT)

Prayer can be so complicated can’t it? On one hand we know that we should pray but then we ask ourselves Why do I need to pray if God already knows everything? What’s the point if he has a plan? An outcome? And then, sometimes we pray and we don’t really get an answer…..for a long time. Did God even hear me?

Habakkuk had the same questions. Throughout his book he talks about it. See if some of his questions and God’s answers don’t mimic what we experience.

In the first chapter Habakkuk asks “How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen!” And God responds I am doing something! “For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.” Basically, he is saying just because you can’t see it yet, that doesn’t mean I am not working.

Habakkuk ponders what God says and then complains that maybe God’s plan is too much. Are you going to kill us? Wait! (Maybe this is why God doesn’t tell us his plans in advance.)

Habakkuk then understands that God always answers. And he says that he is going to wait for God’s answer. He is going to anticipate it with his actions (2:1).

And finally, Habakkuk realizes that God is always there. He is always at work for his people. He begins to praise God and worship him.

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
    I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
    He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
    able to tread upon the heights. (3:18-19)

So many times we question God and his way. Prayer is not so we can get what we want. Prayer is so we can draw close and experience God. It is so we can get a small glimpse of who he is. He does answer our prayers. Sometimes not the way we want or in the timing we want but he always answers. The true gift is in knowing that he will and learning just a little more about him every time we lift our hearts toward him.

Can A Mustard Seed Move A Mountain?

Then Jesus told them, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don't doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. Matthew 21:21 (NLT)

It’s kind of ironic that today I seem to be writing about moving a mountain. I woke up feeling not so faithful. You know, it seemed like every day this week there was something that challenged my faith. By today, my faith was as small as a mustard seed. And I told God that this morning. :-)

We each have our mountains. They look really different depending on who you are and what you are facing right now. And, the mountain can change over time. As things move and progress, what is on our mountain becomes different. What do I mean by “what is on our mountain”?

Recently, I started digging in a little to understand fasting better. I can honestly say as a Christian, I know what it is and I know how it’s done but deep down, I don’t think I really get it. I am asking God to explain this and show me what he wants me to know about it.

I decided to start a weekly fast. What better way to find out about something than to start doing it, right? So, I set the time, the type of fast and then got to “What am I fasting for?” So, I made a list. I have a list of 10 things where I am asking to see God’s movement. As I looked at my list I thought “That’s a lot of stuff. Looks like a mountain of stuff.” And then during my worship one of the days following I read today’s Scripture. I’m sure that wasn’t a coincidence.

As I fasted, I began praying for the mountain. And now, even when I am not fasting, I pray that God will move in things on the mountain. When I have days like today when my faith is very, very small, I remember that God is bigger than my faith. I remember what he has done in the past and how he shows up all the time - maybe not in the exact way I want but he still shows up. I remember that while I have my mountain and some days I look at it too often, I need to move my focus to take in the view from where I stand. I need to reflect on the journey that I am on instead of the obstacles that loom ahead.

It boils down to what I truly believe in my heart. Do I believe in a God who loves me and is involved in my life? Do I believe that he has shown up in the past and everything, although sometimes painful, has worked out for the best? Do I know in my heart that God is more powerful than any mountain I am staring at? And most importantly, do I believe he is willing to get involved?

I do. So as I continue to climb this mountain, instead of looking at the rocky trail ahead, I am going to adjust my view to the One who stands at the end of the path and keep walking toward Him. I can’t wait to see how he moves this mountain!

Don't Take My Word For It

But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Genesis 2:16-17 (NLT)

God gave this command to Adam early on.  Then he created Eve. There is no record in the Bible that says that God gave this command to Eve so one has to wonder if Eve heard it from Adam.  And then you have to wonder if she didn't get the full message because in Genesis 3 she replied to the serpent and said that they couldn't even touch it....which is not what God said. 

It was clear that Eve was deceived by Satan and I am not advocating that it was OK that she ate the fruit...we all know the pain that started. So what's my point?

My point is this.  I can tell you over and over again that God loves you. I can tell you about his promises and I can assure you that he is real. I can even share stories about when he showed up and became real for me. While you might be moved by those, it won't be enough. Hearing about God from someone else will not make him real to you. You have to experience him for yourself. 

That gigantic God-hole in your heart cannot be filled by me, my words and my stories. There is only One that can fill that for you.  God.

Are you tired of hearing about God and not experiencing him yourself? Do you feel that something is missing? Do you know there are more important things in life than this rat-race that we live?  There is and there are. And you should go find Him.

Spend a little time each day being with God. Read/Listen a devotional, the Bible or something that shares God's character for 5 minutes each day. And then, talk to him. There are no rules. Say whatever you want. You can't do it wrong. Just talk and then listen as you go through your day. When you take that first step to know him, he will show up and that big, huge hole in your heart will begin to be filled. There is nothing like it....but don't take my word for it. Find out for yourself.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)

What Were You Expecting?

“You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.” Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. Acts 12:15-16 (NLT)

Peter was in prison. An angel came, spoke to him and led him through the halls of the jail to freedom. After he was outside, the angel disappeared. Peter, realizing what just happened, went to the home of some of the church members he knew were praying for his release.

As he knocked on the door and spoke, the servant girl got so excited she left him standing outside and ran to tell the group who were inside praying. They didn't believe her! They actually told her she was out of her mind.

How often do we do this? How often do we pray and ask God for something and then move on as if he's not going to answer our prayers? How often do we keep going about our business like nothing new is going to happen? Somehow we are going through the motions but missing the best part of prayer....the excitement of expectation!

The Bible is very clear that if we pray, God answers. Shouldn't we be expecting him to answer? Shouldn't we pray and look, waiting to see what he is going to do? When we were talking about this in a Bible Study group, one of the ladies used the analogy of waiting for a delivery (assume pizza here because it is her favorite food). If you make a call to have pizza delivered and you really want that pizza, you keep looking out the window for the driver. You get the plates out, the napkins, your drink. You prepare for the food and you wait expectantly, knowing it will arrive.

It should be the same in our hearts with God. When we pray, we should prepare for him to answer. Now he may not deliver the answer exactly as we worded it (which is a good thing) but he is working on an answer and we should be expectantly looking, preparing and waiting to see what it is.

How would our lives change if we were always looking for what God was doing? How exciting would it be to live each day watching for God to show up? Most of the time he is showing up but we miss what he's doing because we are so stuck in our mundane that we lose sight of his extraordinary.

Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3 (NLT)