Divine Capability

The past few weeks have been absolutely exhausting in every way possible- spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally. I have been through sorority rush. And while it was pretty fun, I wouldn't do it again. However, God has blessed me with a great group of girls that I can now call my sisters and I am so excited about being a part of this group for the next few years. As exciting as it has all been, it has put me extremely behind on my school work and has also caused me to slack off a bit when it comes to my walk with the Lord. So this past weekend, I had the opportunity (privilege, really) to go to Young Life Prayer Overnight in Rockbridge, VA. Honestly, I wasn't planning on going- I knew I needed to take some time to catch up on all of my work and sleep. But after talking to one of the older YL girls, I decided that I should go- I needed a time to be refreshed and re-motivated. I needed a reality check- I needed to reconnect to the reality of God. So I went, and I was so blessed by it.

While there, I was drawn back to a question that I found myself asking earlier this year: why are we sometimes afraid to ask God for what we really, truly want? (Okay maybe this is just me...if that's the case, then you can stop reading here...but if you ever feel the same way...read on). This past weekend, Andy Fetzer said that he was expecting big things from God. It really made me realize that I am guilty of not giving God responsibility for some of the huge things in my life. When I'm praying, I'll give God my neat little bulleted prayer list for people..."Dear God, be with so and so and comfort them because of this and that..." et cetera. But you know, I've never asked him to move mountains. I've always kept my prayer requests realistic. However, I don't think I've been measuring reality by the right standards. I've measured reality by worldly standards, not the standards of the writer of Matthew, who says, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (19:26). In Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell writes, "Over time when you purposefully try to live the way of Jesus, you start noticing something deeper going on. You begin realizing the reason this is the best way to live is that it is rooted in profound truths about how the world is. You find yourself living more and more in tune with reality. Jesus' intention was, and is, to call people to live in tune with reality...And God is the ultimate reality. There is nothing more beyond God...Jesus exposes us to reality at its rawest." So I guess if you look at it this way, you see that my perception of reality has been completely wrong all along. My requests have not been realistic- they have been me being afraid to ask for what I really want...me not trusting fully in the capable hands of the Lord...me being afraid to see what happens if I really test God. Last semester, I came across Malachi 3:10, which says, "Test me in this and see if I don't open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams" (The Message). I wonder, what would happen if I legitimately tested God? What if I put him in charge of everything and present my requests to him boldly and faithfully? What if I actually gave God the responsibility, rather than trusting in my own power?

God absolutely loves to open up the gates of heaven and bless us beyond our wildest dreams. But he is waiting for us. He knows the desire of our hearts. But first we have to acknowledge the fact that we are not big enough/wild enough/powerful enough/good enough/wise enough to be in control. And as we humbly acknowledge that and start to loosen our death grip on whatever we are holding onto, God takes the situation and does incredible, unimaginable things. So here I attempt to have a spirit of surrender. I want to see what God can do if I just take the time to move to the passenger's seat...if I freely give God everything on my heart and fearlessly ask him to move mountains. What will happen when I finally start to be realistic and believe that absolutely nothing is impossible with God?