Experience the Impossible: Simple Ways to Unleash Heaven's Power on Earth (4 page)

The walk of faith is to live according to the revelation we have received, in the midst of mysteries we cannot explain.

I
love revelation. It was important enough for Paul to pray for the church at Ephesus to receive it. I love it when God opens our hearts to see things that we could not see without His help. One of the greatest experiences in life is when God opens His Word to an individual. Seeing from His perspective changes everything, starting with us. But as important as understanding is to the life of a believer, mystery is also important. In fact, it is as important as revelation. Putting it another way,
what
I
do
not
know
is
as
important
as
what
I
do
know
.

The realm of mystery defines how my trust in God is lived out on a day-to-day basis. Living joyfully in the midst of mystery is evidence of great faith, and as such is required territory for every believer longing to grow in Christ. Perhaps this is why this Gospel is called “the faith” and not “the understanding.” It is in our new nature to believe God.

There are those who object to putting too much value on mystery, reminding us of the biblical mandate to pursue
understanding. They are correct, as such a pursuit is clearly laid out in Scripture for every follower of Jesus. It is especially emphasized in the book of Proverbs and lived out by the disciples of Jesus. While that is absolutely true, there must also be a victorious, heartfelt response that we give to Him
in the meantime
until He answers the questions of our heart. That is the great strength of faith. It stands when reasoning falls.

The real issue at hand is obedience. Understanding is not needed for obedience; faith is. If I obey only when I understand, I have reduced God to my size, someone who always has to explain Himself before I respond. That is a dangerous posture for true believers as we have been called into lives of abandonment and absolute trust. While such a position may be considered wisdom, it is actually the sign of great immaturity in that it depends on human reasoning.

Someone being healed of cancer has become reasonable. It is becoming the new norm. A believer dying of cancer is a mystery, one I do not understand. What I do understand is God’s goodness. I do understand that the payment for our healing has been paid in full out of that goodness. And I will not sacrifice my understanding of the nature of God on the altar of human reasoning so that I have an explanation for cancer taking someone’s life. Cancer is wrong. It does not exist in heaven, and it cannot be okay that is exists here on earth. That would violate our assignment in the Lord’s Prayer. And I must give myself to seeing the name of the Lord vindicated from the casual acceptance of cancer and other afflictions as things that God uses to make us stronger people. Jesus never used that approach to the sick. We must follow His lead.

Prayer

Father, I long for understanding of Your Word, Your nature and Your heart for me. I acknowledge that You are good. You are better
than I could ever have hoped for. My cry is that You will give me grace to cling to You in the midst of mystery so I do not falter in my confidence in You. Help me to live according to what You have shown me without stumbling over the things that remain a mystery. I always want to represent You well by manifesting Your goodness to the people I am privileged to serve.

Confession

I will declare God’s goodness when things look good and especially when they do not. My God never changes. I confess His great promise to turn every situation around for His glory and for my benefit. He is a perfectly wonderful Father, one I delight in celebrating!

Every loss is temporary; every victory is eternal.

O
ne of the great mysteries in life is that bad things do happen to good people. There are losses and setbacks, even for believing believers. One need only look at the apostle Paul’s life to figure that one out—shipwrecks, beatings, hunger, lies, opposition in every city, etc. Yet the march is onward and upward toward the call and purposes of God for our lives. We are not defined by our circumstances. This is the overriding hope for every follower of Jesus. Such moments are reminders that we are not perfect, but are instead being perfected.

We have noted that some make the mistake of assuming that God sent a bad situation in order to make us stronger believers. His ability to turn a dark situation around has caused some to credit Him with the problem in the first place. That is an unhealthy leap in logic, as that kind of reasoning has God creating evil so He can display His goodness. That would be like a parent beating a child so he could love and comfort her. Evil exists apart from God. For many of us, our understanding of His sovereignty must change.

Unbelief and the lack of passion cause many to give way to dark circumstances, assuming God sent them. Yet if it is a health issue, the same people will go to a doctor to have him or her fix what they say God sent their way. It is normal to fight against evil. Our reasoning must become biblical and catch up to what we know instinctively is right.

Eternity is the cornerstone of logic and reason. Without that simple anchor of the soul, the river of ideas and lifestyles runs without banks. Tragically, many function without any purpose or sense of accountability. Living with the realization that we will give an account of our lives adds a measure of wisdom that cannot be reached any other way. With that in mind, consider this: Eternity puts loss in its place. Losses are temporary. Every setback and defeat is put in its place because of eternity. And then add to that the realization that the work of the Redeemer takes every bad situation and works it for our good. So not only is every loss temporary, it is actually reversed in its effect to become a blessing and even grounds for personal promotion and gain. And all of that pertains to loss. This is why every believer is able to live with constant hope. Not even wrong things have the ability to derail us.

Every positive thing that happens to us is a building block for our eternal purpose, as this life is school for eternity. We are being trained to rule and reign with Christ. We will not be sitting on a cloud, playing harps. God is a God of continual advancement. The Bride will be adorned beautifully for His glory. And she will come into the fullness of what He has planned for her. It is one of those things that we probably would not believe if it were told to us. It is beyond our wildest dreams. This life is the preparation for that role.

Victories reveal eternal purpose by unveiling God’s system of rewards. Some say they are not interested in rewards; they just want to know God. As noble as it sounds, it seriously undermines God’s economy of faith. Faith requires us to believe He
is, and that “He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

All of our victories are a part of our stories—our testimonies. These testimonies will be treasured for all eternity, as each one is a building block of our stories. We will know one another as we are known and will see one another’s story. We will stand in awe and give praise over and over again to the One who works such wonders in people’s lives. We will finally catch a glimpse of the wonderful tapestry called the history of humanity.

Victories are forever, as they give us a foretaste of heaven, and train us for eternity.

Prayer

Father, please help me to keep Your perspective on my losses. And help me to realize that all these things work for good because You are good, and You are God. Also increase my understanding of my eternal purpose, as I do not want to live ignorant of the things You are making available to us.

Confession

I declare that God makes everything work for His glory, and for my good. I commit to Him all my weakness, failures, triumphs and successes that He might be glorified!

The heart to hear God’s voice is much more important than the ability to hear His voice.

E
ric, my oldest son, is profoundly deaf. He is the senior leader of our local church and has an amazing teaching gift and miracle anointing. Together we have seen hundreds of miracles pertaining to deafness. It has been wonderful. But he has not been healed—yet.

He wears a hearing aid in one ear, and is unable to wear one in the other. His hearing loss is in the 85 to 90 percent range, so you can imagine how this affects his life. Yet his ability to function normally is an amazing gift of grace from God. It is astounding to all who know the facts.

I have never required him to hear me better. I never speak softly and then get angry at him for not hearing. It is my responsibility to be heard. Love requires that I adjust my actions to meet his abilities. Sometimes that means that I speak louder than I would to somebody else. If it is a noisy room, I will make sure he is looking at me so that seeing my lips will reinforce what he is hearing.

All of us hear God’s voice. We could not be saved otherwise. He called us to Himself, and we responded and became born again. That is the only way conversion happens. Jesus described our God-given ability when He said that His sheep know His voice. It is a divinely given grace to hear God’s voice. But many believers are more aware of how bad their hearing is as they compare themselves to someone they admire. And while that might be true, it is destructive in nature. The
heart
to hear is more important than our
ability
to hear. The reason? God takes the responsibility to be heard whenever He finds someone who desires to hear. Sometimes we need to get out of the noisy room, so to speak. In other words, take time quietly to seek God with the Scriptures in hand. Giving thanks and enjoying His presence (face) is a beautiful way to activate our ability to hear, be it weak or strong. Encountering His face does a lot to help us
read His lips
. Hearing Him speak through the Scriptures does a lot to help me hear Him speak to my heart.

James 1:21 describes this process in a beautiful way: “In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” Humility is the condition of the soil that receives the Word. Another way to say this is: Humility is the heart condition that attracts God’s voice into your situation. And when God speaks, He plants the answer into the tender hearts of His children. The seed is the Word. The Word carries the ability to save us. In other words, His Word has the ability to perform itself in and through our hearts. Humble hearts hear well.

Prayer

Father God, please help me to stay away from the trap of evaluating my ability to hear over and above Your ability to be heard. Instead I turn my attention to how much You love me! I want to keep my focus on You, not on my abilities, be they great or small. I do want to increase in my ability to hear Your voice. But more than anything, I
ask You to help me maintain a humble heart so that You can always find a place to plant the seeds of hope and promise. I thank You in advance for helping me to be all that You created me to be—a hearer of the voice of God.

Confession

I was created with the ability to hear God’s voice. That ability is in my new nature given to me in Christ. And even in my weakness, He is strong and is more than capable of speaking loudly enough for me to hear Him. I set my heart to be a hearer of His voice, as I know that I live by every Word that proceeds from His mouth. And I declare that, as a hearer of His voice, I will do all He says I will do.

If you live cautiously, your friends will call you wise. You just won’t move many mountains.

W
hile there is a caution born out of wisdom, our challenge is to spot the counterfeit—whatever comes from the fear of man. This kind of fear is an affliction of the heart. It causes us to silence courage by wondering what someone will think of us if we make a bold move. I believe this single issue has caused more stunted growth in the people of God than any other issue.

The cautious ones are often known for their discipline and Bible study. They are usually good teachers of the principles of God’s Word, and are quiet outside of their public responsibilities, should they have any. These traits can all be valuable. But such a person seldom has an effect on his mountain, so to speak. He is much more likely to teach us how to live with and endure our mountains. In this context, timidity gets called anything but what it is. It is fear. A quiet spirit is Kingdom; timidity is not.

History is filled with the stories of brave men and women of God who broke out of the acceptable norm only to raise the bar on what was considered to be the normal Christian life.
Their breakthroughs changed how we do life, and even more importantly, what we can expect to take place through our lives. But they paid a price. Today they are the heroes of the faith. But in their day, they were often rejected and maligned by their peers. Many of them died lonely and despised by the church. As tragic as that is, it reveals an issue that everyone faces in measure, but not everyone is willing to embrace as a challenge—we must demonstrate the life of Christ in the full measure of love, purity and power, regardless of the cost.

Smith Wigglesworth was such a man. My mom’s side of the family was greatly impacted by his ministry. My grandfather once told me that not everyone liked Wigglesworth. Of course, he is highly respected today as the legendary apostle of faith. But that is because he is dead. Israel did the same with her prophets: They were rejected in their day only to be revered once they had died. It is easy to admire accomplishments from a distance (either geographical, or in time). It is quite another to endure and respect those whose passion is to pursue living an authentic Gospel in ways that challenge our comfort zones. Such is the nature of real faith. It offends the stationary.

Faith is not seen in foolishness; nor does it attract attention to itself. It does not need to prove itself, as that usually ends in disappointment. Faith is focused entirely on God and exists because of Him. Faith is active, and is completely dissatisfied with theories and ideals that cannot be proven, that do not bear fruit. It derives its life from the voice and nature of God. It is unto God, to bring Him pleasure and glory. Such a life is anything but a comfortable life of caution. It is bold, brave, courageous and risky.

Prayer

Father, I want my life to count for something. For that to happen, You must pour great grace upon me. I confess that I have feared
what others might think of me at the expense of considering what You value. Forgive me. I am tired of living with mountains that are outside of Your purposes. Forgive me for giving them virtuous names that have allowed them to remain. By Your grace I will be bold and declare who You are without shame or fear.

Confession

By my nature in Christ I am bold and filled with faith. I will fear no man, but fear God only, and love not my life unto death. I embrace this as the privilege of every follower of Jesus. And let mountains be removed now for the glory of God!