DESIGNED FOR GREATNESS

BLOG #28

www.a2zredemption.com

“….but the people who know (trust) their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits.….” (Daniel 11:32)

My friend, trusting God begins with knowing Him, personally and intimately. One of the first things God reveals about Himself, the one that should be the most obvious, is that His ways are not our ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9) He is GOD.

So we look to Jesus, God in human flesh, Son of God and Son of Man to get a glimpse of His character. And we see Jesus, early in His ministry stunning His followers, then and now, with statements that are so opposite to our natural mind:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons (and daughters) of God
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” Matt 5:3-11

He did not mince words about God’s expectations that are seemingly impossible to attain:

“…do not resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also….”
“If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also…”
“Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two…”
“Give to him who asks you and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away”
“You have heard that it was said ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…….” Matt 5

He does not stop there….He tells His disciples that they are to forgive seventy times seven, in other words, as often as needed. He tells us we must lose to gain and die to live. But “what is impossible for man, is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)For with “God nothing is impossible.” (Luke 1:37I. If this is true, then I need to know this God and so do you because we have circumstances in our lives that are beyond our ability to fix. And from our perspective, there are absolutely no solutions. BUT GOD – We need to know this God to whom nothing is impossible and in knowing Him, we will trust Him.

Two of my favorite books are “Knowledge of the Holy” by A.W. Tozer, and “Experiencing God” by H. Blackaby & C. V. King. If you set your heart to know Him, other than the Bible, these are the two resources I strongly recommend.

Just as when you were first ‘in love’ and couldn’t wait to spend time with your lover, so is the passion and intensity that grows stronger and stronger the more you know Him, and the more you want to know Him, the more you trust Him. You will find that He will bear you up on eagle wings and cause to do ‘mighty exploits’ according to His definition of “mighty exploits.”

He sees the poor widow who gave a ‘mite’ out of her need as a ‘mighty exploit.
He sees Mary of Bethany who dared to take a seat at His feet during a time when women stayed in the kitchen and served as a “mighty exploit.”
He sees Esther who went before the king uninvited risking her life for her nation, as a “mighty exploit.”
He sees a woman as Joni Erickson Tata, a quadriplegic glorifying Him with her voice, in spite of her pain and limited physical abilities, as a “mighty exploit.”
He sees my single, destitute, hardworking mother, leaving her young children in a small island to forge a new and better life for them, as a “mighty exploit.”
He sees the neglected wife doing all she can to please her husband, one day at a time as a “mighty exploit.”
He sees the physically abused woman making a decision to trust God and escape from an abusive relationship, knowing that it may cost her much as a “mighty exploit.”
He sees the woman resisting the temptation to regurgitate and craving after the latest diet, but rather choosing to trust God with her image in a culture that is obsessed with the ‘perfect body’ as a “mighty exploit.”
He sees the woman who chooses not to abort her unborn child in a culture where abortion is encouraged as a “mighty exploit.”
He sees the mother tirelessly caring for her special needs child as a “mighty exploit.”
He sees the young girl or adult woman who chooses to stand for righteousness and sexual purity in our pervasive sexual culture as a “mighty exploit.”
He sees you choosing to humble yourself under His mighty hand and standing in the face of opposition as a “mighty exploit.”
He sees His Son, Jesus Christ, as a lamb going to the slaughter as the ultimate sacrifice laying down His life for you – and me, in obedience to His Father, as a very, very “mighty exploit.”
He sees you accepting His Son, and His finished work on the Cross, surrendering your will and inviting Him into your life as a very, very “mighty exploit.”

And there are so many other examples of ordinary people, like you and me, doing extraordinary things, unnoticed and unappreciated by the world, but greatly recognized and applauded by God. In knowing and trusting Him, He will enable you to do ‘mighty exploits’ in every season.

He will enable you to truly love your repentant husband who was caught in adultery and pornography
He will cause you to hold your peace when someone you love is tearing your character to pieces
He will give you peace beyond understanding to show compassion to that prodigal child who just spat in your face
He will strengthen you to turn the other cheek when people malign your reputation
He will give you courage you didn’t know you had when your beloved husband or child receives a terminal prognosis
He will strengthen you to ‘keep going’ when your husband leaves you with the children for another woman
He will cause you to sing praise and adoration to Him out of a broken heart
He will inspire you to encourage others going through chemo treatment having just been told that your prognosis is terminal
He will give you patience beyond understanding to stop, listen, and love that toddler who just painted your walls with a permanent marker
He will cause you to smile even as your employer is telling you that you are redundant, no longer needed
He will give you supernatural love in the midst of hate and peace in chaotic circumstances

My friend, these are a few mighty exploits God enables us to do when we know Him and when we trust Him. It’s the day-to-day actions that make up life,

the sacrifice of time, money, resources;
encouraging others when your world seems to be falling apart;
teaching that Sunday School class of three-year-olds’ who can’t sit still for longer than a minute; and
flushing a dirty public toilet because you care about the next person you don’t even know….

It’s doing the small and big stuff, the seemingly unimportant stuff that God sees and He calls “mighty.”

I don’t know what your journey holds. Whatever it holds, as you intentionally, deliberately and passionately seek to know God you will grow to trust Him. Your waltz with Him will become more exquisite, glorious, moving in rhythm:

like a branch swaying in a tornado,
like a seashell floating in a tsunami,
like a butterfly fluttering in an avalanche; and
like a glass tower melodiously rocking in an earthquake,

God will lead you in perfect rhythm through every season as you trust and rest in Him.“This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.” (Exodus 12:2)

Shalom