Experience the Impossible: Simple Ways to Unleash Heaven's Power on Earth (11 page)

People with resentment attract people with complaints.

O
ne of the great mysteries of life is how people with certain values, be they good or bad, attract others with the same values. I can assure you that if you put a person who loves gossip in a work environment with a hundred other workers, within a couple of weeks he will have attracted into his life those who gossip. It is a strange phenomenon, but completely true.

People who live bitter lives are puppets of the devil. They attract demonic chaos that brings distortion. Bitterness seldom exists without reasoning. So the evil one loves to provide the justification to remain bitter. What better way to sustain what is wrong than to immerse it in the atmosphere of justified resentment? And so the complainers are drawn into the lives of the bitter. When this happens, it is more than a natural law of like attracting like through mutual interest. It now becomes a spiritual law, where the internal values of the heart help to build alliances with the invisible world. In this case, the alliance is with the demonic. The bitterness and resentment is so vile that it contaminates entire groups of people in a very short period of time.

There were times when friends of mine heard evil report after evil report about someone, and I heard nothing, even though I was involved with the same circle of friends. I realize that there could be many reasons for this. But one that I am certain of is that when people become offended, they are more likely not to trust the ones who offended them. The one sure way to separate friends and to destroy the beauty of unity is to feed suspicion. The wrong attitudes in their hearts attract information that confirms what they have
discerned
, thus furthering the divide between those who should be illustrating love, mercy and unity. The heart is a beautiful thing, when protected. But it can be vile when the enemy is allowed to sow seeds of discord into it.

This truth can also work to our benefit, in that good standards of the heart actually attract the things needed to sustain those values. I have practiced this as though I were trying to learn to play a musical instrument or something requiring equal discipline. Here is an example. The continual hope in my life thrives on reports of what God is doing. When I value testimonies of God’s wonder-working power, I attract those with stories of breakthrough. It is beautiful to watch. There are times when people almost line up to tell me stories of good news! The values of the heart attract the fuel needed to sustain those values. If hope and faith have a high priority on your list of values, watch as you attract people with great hope and faith who have faith-building stories.

It is wisdom to recognize what you attract into your world. Obviously, not everything that comes to you in life is because you attracted it. But it is fitting for us to become aware of unusual patterns—not for the purpose of shame or condemnation, but for the purpose of bringing about any needed life changes. Those patterns just might indicate something in our hearts that we have been blinded to. If it is gossip, turn away from it the next time it comes. If it is dirty jokes, learn to pull out of such conversations. Make it clear as to what you value if you are
questioned. Reset the standard of what you are willing to listen to, and heaven will back up your commitment and make sure you get a steady diet of things eternal.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, please give me the grace for my heart to overflow with Your values. I want to attract into my life what pleases You. That is my cry. But I also need You to show me the things I might be ignorant of that displease You and bring difficulties into my life. My greatest desire is that You be glorified by who I am and how I live. Thank You for the promises You have given me that help me maintain hope in all situations.

Confession

I will protect my heart from the seeds of resentment and bitterness. By God’s grace I will keep away from these things, and will give myself to those things that please God. As a result I am now a person of great hope. And my hope is secure in the goodness of God, all for His glory.

Some listen to learn; others listen to critique.

T
he Bible states that love “believes all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). God was obviously not making room for foolishness or being gullible about things that are not true. That would contradict the rest of Scripture. So what does He mean in that statement? He is describing the heart condition necessary to grow and receive from the various gifts (people) that He has placed in our lives. Some of those people are hard to receive from for a variety of reasons. And sometimes we, not they, are the problem.

Occasionally, we cannot hear truth from certain people because their mannerisms are different from what we believe is appropriate. They might be boisterous and loud or quiet and subtle. Either can appear wrong if our background experiences differ from theirs. This is generally more of a cultural issue than a spiritual one, but we do not always know the difference. Fearing error, we build walls of protection, but sometimes protection meant to keep us safe from error makes us a law unto ourselves.

Sometimes people speak great truths, but their terminology means something different to them than it does to us. This is called semantics. A word or phrase might mean something positive to them, but be a “trigger word” for us. Those who listen to learn can decipher this confusion, but those who listen to critique have a heyday mocking the “error” of sincere believers. The absence of love in listening keeps them from insight, and, worse yet, they dishonor servants of the Lord.

I am not alone in witnessing the devilish reactions of many people who confess to be followers of Jesus. I do not question their faith. But their religious zeal takes over their character and they slander a person they might actually agree with if they took the time to communicate. If they were in relationship and saw how that particular truth was lived out on a daily basis, they might become friends for life. Being a self-appointed policeman for the Body of Christ is a nauseating task.

Love is the answer. Love positions us to succeed. When I am in community with a group of people, love is a priority. Love puts me in a place of listening to understand before making a conclusion. And even if I conclude that I strongly disagree with someone, my love forbids me to reject and mock that one in my zeal for truth.

Love truly wins because love believes all things. It looks for the best in an effort to understand. Those who need always to be right become an offense even to the people who agree with them. Love tempers. It softens. It makes diversity more than tolerable. In love, diversity is necessary to give a true expression of the Body of Christ to this world. When we love only those we agree with, we are doing nothing more than any other service club in our community. God expects and requires more. That is why love believes all things.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, please help me to be a better listener than I am a talker. I really want to understand the heart of the people You
have connected me with. And I really need help so that I am not quick to judge and criticize people with whom I differ. Thank You that You have made us different from each other by design. Help me to value this diversity and never oppose what You have made. I want my love for people who differ from me to be the very thing that brings You glory.

Confession

I am committed to a life of love in the context of community. I am also devoted to a lifestyle that celebrates diversity. In my quest for truth, I will not dishonor persons made in the image of God. Instead, I will listen, eager to learn and eager to understand. I acknowledge that this is the way of love, and I will live this way for the glory of God.

The hungry crave; the satisfied evaluate.

I
once sat in a restaurant close to a very unhappy woman. Her unhappiness had to do with the meal she had ordered. Her steak was not hot enough. She had the server take it back and bring it back hotter. She was also dissatisfied with the second attempt. The third time the manager himself brought a brand-new steak to her. When she said she did not like that one either, he explained that he had brought it straight from the fire to her table. She was determined to complain, as the fire, itself, was not hot enough.

Those who become the most demanding of their meals are usually the ones who are the farthest away from hunger. Satisfaction breeds a certain sense of snobbery in our attempt to enjoy perfection. And while such high standards may be acceptable when you are paying for an expensive meal, the concept often speaks to the conditions found in much of the Church. Those with the most options often become the most demanding. Many choose the church to attend on a given weekend by who is preaching that day, or by the sermon topic. Only the spiritually full have such options.

Hunger is an interesting phenomenon. It moves people to do strange things. Stealing is forbidden in Scripture, for instance, but Solomon seemed to show sympathy to the thief whose stealing is motivated by hunger. And even though the thief must repay what he has stolen, Solomon said that the man is not despised in his community (see Proverbs 6:30). Unusual behavior is more excusable when a person is hungry.

Spiritually hungry people often show similar traits. Protocol seems to fly out the window for those with extreme hunger for God. I have watched shy people become loud, timid people become aggressive and the complacent become extremely bold in their faith. It is beautiful. It is one thing that is certain to bring fulfillment of the Hebrews 11:6 definition of faith: “He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hannah lived out of this same reality when she appeared drunk before the priest, but was actually intoxicated with a desperate prayer for a child (see 1 Samuel 1:13). Eli understood and excused her bizarre behavior brought on by hunger.

This kind of hunger comes out of the conviction of the goodness of God, who gives good gifts to His children. It exists because people believe He keeps His promises. People seldom come to this conclusion through Bible study alone. In the end, it requires diligent pursuit of what the Bible reveals. It would not be an exaggeration to call this hunger a “burning within.” It is ignited by God, but sustained through the cooperation of the individual.

The satisfied evaluate. They usually evaluate other people’s experience, teaching, and their confession and hope. Sadly, some people would have no ministry at all if they could not critique and criticize others. They are not known for what they believe; they are known for what they oppose. They have no history of igniting or sowing into moves of God. Instead, they are known for critiquing the “meal” that others enjoy. They remind me of restaurant critics who cannot cook.

Faith has such a different approach to truth. Yes, deception is a concern, and, yes, the devil exists. But faith expressed in hunger is much more convinced of God’s goodness and His promise to satisfy than it is of the devil’s ability to steal, kill and destroy. The hungry become preoccupied by the One. He is available to those who pursue with reckless abandon. He comes with the ability to keep them safe. At the center of this kind of faith is humility, for it causes a person to “lean into” a situation, expecting God to speak and give direction. Faith anticipates good because God is good. Faith with hunger is more gullible than suspicious.

Prayer

Father, please help me always to be thankful for what You have given me, but also always hungry for more. I do not want to fall into critiquing other people’s experiences at the expense of going deeper with You in my own walk. Please surround me with people who inspire me to hunger for more, and may my life have the same effect on others.

Confession

I was designed to walk in faith and humility. I am able to do this because God is good, and He gave me the gift of hunger. For this reason, I will pursue the One who has promised to be found by me!

When God gives us a promise instead of an answer, it reveals His desire to draw us into our eternal purposes.

I
have heard people say that God needs us. This simply is not true. He needs nothing. He is and has been completely self-sufficient for all eternity. But we have been on His mind forever. And those thoughts have been for our welfare and blessing, and not our calamity. His ideas for us are good, incredibly good. He has great dreams for us, just as any good Father has for His children. He told Jeremiah that He knew him before he was born. God was so involved in His dream for that prophet that He
experienced
him, before he was. That is intense dreaming, the kind that God is very capable of.

The all-sufficient One prefers partnership in which His brilliance and beauty are seen in those who worship Him by choice. As our hearts are set on Him, we are changed from glory to glory. Yet we are also the object of His desire—we are His dream come true. He longs for those who want to learn to display His heart and ways, to become co-laborers in establishing His Kingdom and bringing glory to His name. How is it possible not to be possessed by hope when God is our Father? Impossible!

The Father has such longing for partnership that He sometimes responds to our cries in ways we misunderstand. We look at the problem; He looks at the big picture. We look for intervention; He looks for sons and daughters to look, act and live like His Son, Jesus. He desires for us to live in the authority of power that Jesus lived in. Do you think that if God answers every prayer for us, fixing every problem we pray about, that this personal transformation will ever happen to us? No. We will remain like the infants in the home whose every need is cared for. In that environment, all we have to do is cry to get the needed attention. He wants more from us. For us to grow up, we must attack the problems at hand with the mind of Christ, exercising the power and authority given to us in His name. Maturity means we live and think responsibly. Jesus must be
re
-presented in our generation.

There are times when He gives us promises instead of answers. He wants our involvement in becoming mature believers that
re
-present Him well. Embracing His process gives us the privilege of being a part of His answer. He wants more than to see someone healed or delivered; He wants to work through us. He wants His people to demonstrate His heart for humanity and become a part of the answer—bringing His healing, deliverance and overall spirit of breakthrough to each unique situation.

When He answers a prayer for us, our job is quite simple: Watch Him work and give thanks. He works on our behalf in ways that impress us so deeply that we celebrate His intervention with great joy. When He answers prayers through us, our job is much different. This time, our response to His leading is the key to the breakthrough. Jesus said, “I only do what I see my Father doing.” The Father showed Jesus what to do to bring about the miracle. Such co-laboring is still in God’s heart today, and He wants a Bride that is fully developed into maturity for His Son.

Prayer

Father, You amaze me. You amaze me in the way You desire for me to be able to illustrate Your heart to the world around me. I live with hope because of this. Please help me to recognize when and how You are moving in a situation so I do not miss my God-given opportunities to see Your Kingdom come. I need wisdom to know when the cry of my heart is being answered for me or answered through me. In advance, I thank You for both.

Confession

By the grace of God given to me, I will be faithful to cry out for breakthrough, but not be afraid of using His name to help bring it about. My heart longs for God to be glorified in and through me; therefore, I embrace, with joy, His longing to work His purposes in and through me that the world might know what He is like. I do this that His name might be exalted in all the earth!