What do you do when the Lord requires something out of you that you believe is bigger than you? You grow up.
We all like to think we are looking for God to enlarge our borders and give us great opportunities, but one of the things I am learning, is that the opportunities I want and the ones God gives me aren’t always the same thing. His opportunities require us to come up higher, believe better and find more grace. His opportunities stretch us beyond all the comfort and security zones we’ve built.
It’s not just the devil we fight but our own personal fears and limitations. We can be so self centered that we convince ourselves God’s wisdom equals avoidance of hardship and trouble. The Psalmist wrote, He alone makes me dwell in safety. What times I am afraid I will trust in you. He is our safe refuge, our strong tower, a very present help in time of need. We know these things, right? Yes, we know them, but do we walk in a way that proves we believe them?
I’m reminded of two other Old testament events- both challenging the mindsets of the people involved. The first event is the twelve spies and the second is Gideon. Both examples show how the people’s perceptions of themselves as grasshoppers, weak and least, challenged their ability to believe God could use them.
The point is, it is not about our ability, it’s about how I perceive Gods.
God said to Moses, “But I will be with you”.
From Numbers 14:9 we find where Joshua encouraged the people saying, “ Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” To Gideon, in Judges 6, the angel of the Lord, said “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
When the door is set before us, we can be assured there is the grace to walk through it. The question we must all answer is, ‘will I commit to God and move through the door?’