Wednesday February 1, 2017

What if?

 

We humans are strange. We come to God for help with our relational, physical, financial, legal, and moral problems but we know in advance, how we want Him to solve them. When we come to God we are not seeking His direction, what we want is His help. For example, Mary is having a problem with her boyfriend. God tells Mary to sever the relationship but Mary ignores God because what she wants is for God to change her boyfriend. Here is another example: Bob is having marital problems and he wants to end the relationship. He comes to God and explains to him all the reasons why he should get a divorce. God on the other hand, tells Bob, “I don’t want you to exit your marriage. What I want you to do is to love your wife the way that Jesus loved the church”. Her is one more example: Mr. Garcia lost his job so he and Mrs. Garcia are having financial difficulties. They pray and God invites them to become faithful givers. Mr. and Mrs. Garcia however, were hoping that God would bless Mr. Garcia with a higher paying job. When things like this happen to us, our tendency is to think: What if? What if I cant to find another guy? What if I remain stuck in a horrible marriage? What if we are unable to pay our bills?

 

Perhaps God is calling you to do something, that from your vantage point is simply impossible like praying for someone who is terminally ill, or something crazy like walking on water. You then analyze the situation and take stock of your abilities, knowledge, and resources, and conclude that God must not know what He is doing because you are the wrong person for the task. Then those “what if’s” creep in. What if I pray and nothing happens? What if I get out of the boat and drown?

 

Matthew 14:28-31 NIV

 

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.

 

In a world filled with uncertainties, the one thing you can rest assured of is, when God asks you to do something that does not make sense or that is impossible, He will always supply you with the necessary resources and power to complete the task. Your single responsibility is to do what you are able to do and then allow God to do what only He can do. Therefore, when God calls on you to do something that does not make sense or that is impossible, do not gauge your ability to complete the task based on your knowledge or experience. Instead, base your ability to complete the task on His abilities and knowledge. If you become overwhelmed with “what if’s”, think about Peter. Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on water. However, when he focused on the waves, he began to sink, but Jesus immediately extended His hand and pulled him out.

 

When your faith, however small meets God’s faithfulness, even if you begin to sink, the impossible becomes possible.