I’m feeling a little sore, so to speak. Have you ever had one of those weeks when you spent much of the time wrestling with God? I really had to let go of some things (see last week’s post — Touching the Sacred) and now I’m in a much better place. Just a little worn out from the tug-of-war. I should remember that God always wins these things and I’m better off if I can let go sooner instead of later.
Yesterday at church, the Lord really spoke to me. I was feeling very emotional…kind of raw… during worship. My mind was totally on Jesus as I was singing to Him, and in the middle of it all, He gave me a promise. Actually, it’s more like part 5 of a promise He first gave me over a year ago during worship. That first time, He gave me a mental picture of something truly amazing. Over the last year, He’s been adding detail to the same picture. This time, the new portion of the promise had to do with the timing. I was blown away. (Translation: I cried like a baby and wondered why I’d even bothered to put on make-up that morning.)
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the new layer of detail for this promise came after I surrendered this week. I’ve been asking for direction and confirmation in a few areas, but because I had the death-grip on some things, the communication He had for me couldn’t get through.
So, what to do with this new layer of the promise?? The old Jamie would already have a 5 step plan on how to achieve this thing. It’s been 24 hours now, so I’d be fully immersed in step one and God would be eating my dust. However, the new Jamie knows that only the Lord can accomplish what He has dreamed up for me in His heart. So, if I can’t make plans or force this promise to begin sprouting, what’s on my docket for today?
I’m following in the footsteps of Abraham…his footsteps of faith. I was looking more closely at Romans 4 this morning:
…the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. Rom. 4:18-21
First, I was reminded about God’s nature. He gives life to the dead. It makes no difference to Him what the current state of a person or a situation is. He brings life to everything that deserves life according to His will.
In addition, He is eternal. Because He exists outside of our earthly time constraints, He sees things as they will be in HIS time. “He calls things that ARE NOT as though they WERE.” In the case of Abraham, God called Abe the father of many nations before Sarah ever conceived their son. God saw Abraham in his future, complete, received-the-promise-in-hand state.
Since God called Abraham the father of many nations, Abe believed it even though the fulfillment hadn’t come yet. Look at what the Romans passage says about Abraham’s actions:
- Against all hope, Abraham believed.
- He did not weaken in his faith as he faced the facts of the situation (old man’s seed + old wife’s womb = no chance for a baby)
- He never stopped believing God’s promise.
- He was strengthened in his faith by giving glory to God (focusing on who God is instead of what is going on).
- He maintained the position of being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He promised. No matter what the circumstances were.
Today, I am putting my faith in God and believing His promise. He can see it completed. That’s the picture that He keeps sharing with me during worship! It’s the end result. I am fully persuaded that He has the power to do what He has promised. He’s the ONLY ONE who has the power to do it. All I have to do is believe and wait. I am viewing the waiting time as preparation and transformation time. It is my joy to wait and see what God will do!