Tag Archives: God’s Power

April 11 – One + God = Victory

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I Samuel 13&14

Most of us have probably felt a time or two: What can one person do?

What difference does it make if I speak the Truth at work when I’m the only believer there? What can my measly little offering do when I drop my few dollars in the plate each week? Does my one vote really matter? Does my opinion count for anything? I’m just one person. How effective can I be?

Jonathon and his armor bearer were getting ready to take on the Philistine army. Just the two of them. Hear what Jonathon said: “… perhaps the Lord will work for us, for the Lord is not restrained to save by many or by few.” (14:6)

We can all probably agree that we need a revival in our churches. And it could start with

YOU!

God can use one yielded heart, one voice to do amazing things in His children. He is not restrained by numbers.

One + God = Victory

You + God = Anything He’s calling you to!

Feb 1 – Plagues and Purpose

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Exodus 7-9

If God wanted the Israelites to move to Canaan, why didn’t he just kill Pharaoh and his army? Why didn’t God just turn the Israelites invisible and let them walk right past the enemy? Why bother with all the plagues? Does God like to play games?

The answer is in Exodus 9:15-17:

For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. For if by now I had put forth my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth. But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth. Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go. (I added the bold)

Yes, God used Pharaoh’s response to the plagues to fulfill His promise to Abraham, to free the Jews and send them toward the Promised Land. But, according to the verses we just read that’s not the only reason God sent those plagues.

God gave the Egyptians, including Pharaoh, multiple opportunities to bow down to Him. He demonstrated His power through every plague so the whole world would recognize He is the One True God. God, who is not willing that any should perish, put those plagues out there because of love.

I know because we read what happened after the fact, we might come to the conclusion God orchestrated the events, pulled strings to make Pharaoh reject Him. But that implies God wasn’t interested in Pharaoh’s soul, and that’s not consistent with God’s nature.

Had Pharaoh believed in Israel’s God after recognizing God’s power, we would be reading a different account. And someone would assume God pulled strings to make that happen, too.

Reading about the plagues today reminds me that God will stop at nothing to reveal Himself, to draw people to Himself. And I am also reminded that everything that happens in this life happens for the sole purpose of saving souls.

That’s the message here. It’s not in the details of the plagues. It’s in the love of God who is in the business of showing Himself to a world that needs Him.

I pray none of us will miss His purpose in the events of our own lives.

Jan 14 – Answers From Questions

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Job 38-39

When I was getting my Masters Degree in School Counseling, we had to study many different counseling theories. Some I liked and used. Some I didn’t. But I learned to ask questions of the person sitting in front of me to help them find the answers they were often looking for.

In the chapters we read today, God finally speaks to Job. The very thing Job wanted to happen happened. But instead of getting answers, Job hears God ask dozens of questions. Questions like: Were you there when I laid the foundation of the earth? Have you ever in your life commanded the morning? Have the gates of hell been revealed to you? Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Who can count the clouds by wisdom…? Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars?

There must be about fifty or so such questions in these two chapters. And, of course, none of them are answerable by Job. But in the asking, God is helping Job understand some things about himself, and about God.

God laid the foundation of the earth. He can tell you the number of clouds in the sky. That’s the reality Job is learning. Our Creator is not our equal. Our Creator has rights we don’t have. Our Creator can do what He wants without your permission or approval.

I hope you read the chapters in Job today. You will come away feeling pretty small in light of who God is. As you should. But hear me when I say, if you keep reading God’s Word you will find that this great God loves you, died for you, and wants you close to Him.

Let’s keep reading! This is good stuff.

Listen For The Whisper

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Job, in chapter 26, tries to say how big, how powerful, how awe-inspiring is God. God is supreme over death and hell. He is supreme over creation: “He hangs the earth on nothing.” And God is supreme over heaven.

Job tells us that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s just what we can know of God. God is greater, more powerful than we can even imagine!

Then in verse 14 he says, “…and how small a whisper we hear of him…”

What we see around us, what we experience in life is such a small part of WHO God really is. Our human minds can’t comprehend his reality.

A whisper is something you can only hear close up. That’s what spoke to me in this verse today. This immense God leans in so we can hear him. As mighty as he is, as awesome, and as enormous his reach, he is also personal, wanting us to know him.

He whispers to us through his Word, through the birth of a baby, through struggles and joys, through a budding rose, and a summer rain. “Here I am,” he says to us. “I love you. I died for you. I want to walk with you today.”

Listen for the whisper!

God Doesn’t Give you… What?

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Naaman’s story from 2 Kings 5 is a pretty familiar story for those of us raised going to Sunday School. It’s the story of a little Jewish slave girl who shared her faith in Israel’s prophet, and whose master’s husband Naaman was not only healed of leprosy, but became a believer in Israel’s God because of it.

I’ve read or heard the story many times over the years, but today I had one of those laugh-out-loud moments when I read something in the story I’d never noticed before. Naaman, who was a Syrian warrior, went to Israel on the word of this little Jewish girl, with a letter to the King of Israel written by his boss, the King of Syria. In it, the Syrian King said:

“Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.”

The reaction of Israel’s King is priceless and it is what made me laugh this morning. He tore his clothes, a sign of distress and anguish and says: WHAT? Does he think I’m God? Is this a trick so he’ll have an excuse to go to war with us when I don’t heal this man? I CAN’T DO THIS! WAAAA!

Talk about a major misunderstanding by someone who was looking within himself way too hard.

I laugh because, sadly, I recognize myself in the king’s panic. Sometimes I look at the circumstances of life, feel the weight of expectations on my shoulders, fret about a situation I’m facing, and think I CAN’T DO THIS. Then someone tells me, God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.

LIAR!

Read 2 Kings 5. When the prophet Elisha heard that the king was losing his mind over this situation he sent a message to the king: Relax. God’s got this covered.

And God is saying that still. The truth is, God does allow things in our lives that are too much for us to do on our own. If he only sent things our way that we could handle, we wouldn’t need him, would we? God delights in revealing himself in every circumstance you face, good or bad. He wants you to go to him, to trust him, to depend on him, to show the world what he is able to do through you. I am convinced that God is not concerned about strengthening your ego, or teaching you how powerful you are. He wants to point you and me, and everyone around us to Himself as we allow him to handle every situation, as we trust him with every detail.

And I have found that, when I do surrender to him, I am blessed beyond what I can imagine. I believe it’s Satan’s lies that tell you you can handle things on your own, or worse, should handle things on your own. Satan certainly doesn’t want you surrendered to God.

The next time you are tempted to think God won’t give you more than you can handle, think again. Then turn the situation, your very life, over to him and see what he can do when you get out of the way.

Did You Break Your Arm?

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My sisters and I were raised not to expect someone to do something for us that we could do ourselves. If Dad heard one of us ask a sister to get us a drink of water, for example, he’d say “Are your legs broken?” or “Did you break your arm?” So when I read in Numbers 11 about Moses complaining to God and doubting his instructions, I laughed when God said, “Has my arm lost its power?” Made me think of my dad.

God had asked Moses to do something and wanted Moses to know God was able to accomplish great things through him. God had done great things before and he had the power to continue to do great things on behalf of his people.

I think the lesson here is – do we trust God? When he asks us to do something, he doesn’t expect us to do it alone. If he asks, he’ll be right there. Like in my childhood example. If God was asking me to get him the drink of water, he would lift me up and carry me to the faucet if I was willing to obey.

So the question isn’t, are my arms broken. The question is do I trust God’s arms? If he asks us to do something in his name, he’ll be the power behind it when we obey.

God, I pray for your people today. You will ask us to do things. You will prompt us to speak to someone about you, to help a person in need, to give sacrificially of our time and money. I pray that when you do, you will find us trusting you to provide the power we need to get the job done. May you find us faithful and willing to serve. Thank you for promising to be with us as we do.

I Am Amazed

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I was reading in Exodus today about God’s instructions to Moses for the building of the Tabernacle. I don’t think I ever read this portion of Scripture without being in awe.

I am amazed at the details of the instructions. God was interested in every stitch, every stone. And every part of that tabernacle held special meaning.

I am amazed at the amount of materials required to build the Tabernacle. Where did they get all that gold, bronze, and silver, all the wood and stone there in the desert? How did they dye the enormous amount of thread needed to make yards and yards of material so it looked like one piece of cloth?

I am amazed that, in the desert, men could forge golden cherubim, tiny hooks, utensils. They sure didn’t have the machinery we have today.
I don’t know how long it took to complete the Tabernacle but it amazes me they ever got it done. It took three weeks for my bathroom to be updated and it’s a tiny bathroom. There in the desert, so many individuals completed so many tasks. How did they do that?

God would remind me that the Christian life should look like that. Each of us should identify our gifts and use them to build the kingdom as we lead sinners to Jesus. The world should stand in awe of us and ask themselves, how did they do that?

Does seeing God alive and working in us amaze our unsaved friends and family? It should.

God, you are amazing. We who know you know that truth. Now, God, equip us to show the world just how awesome you are. In these days when the Truth of Scripture is being attacked and disregarded I pray that your people will stand, that we will work together, that the world will see your grace in us and want what we have. May they recognize your greatness because they see your greatness in each of us. And may they be amazed at what you do and who you are through us who represent you.

A Winter’s Storm

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God’s power is definitely displayed in the weather. Man has been trying to control the weather for centuries, but I’m pretty sure that’s one thing that won’t totally happen. Nature is a God-thing.

Elihu tells Job in 37:6&7 that storms often cause people to stop and watch. I remember, as a child our dad used to take us girls to a window during a storm. He taught us to count seconds between lightening flashes and thunder to guess distance. We’d watch trees bend in the wind and learned to be awed by their strength. We saw beauty in the dark cloud formations and looked for rays of sunlight because Dad did.

I’m in southern Georgia and they are calling for snow today. Schools are closed and people are tucked in their homes in anticipation. My neighbor hopes it snows like she remembers in 1958 when she enjoyed her one and only ever snowball fight.

Ohioans have been treated to some pretty awesome winter phenomena this year, laser-like light shows and snow rolls fashioned by God himself.

Nature declares the glory of God!

I am reminded that this same God is as evident in our storms of life. Hardships and trials are avenues through which God can demonstrate his power and love. Sometimes those very challenges can cause us to stop and watch God do his thing.

Are you side-lined by depression, grief, anxiety, uncertainty, loss, worry…? I would challenge you to give it to God, then sit back and watch what he can do.

You’ll be as amazed as those of us watching a southern Georgia snowstorm.