What does this make possible?
That is such a great question! Especially in times of failure.
Seriously. I’m not kidding.
When things have gone wrong, when you’ve fallen flat on your face, when nothing went according to plan, when every possible roadblock got in the way—ask the question.
When someone else has really messed up, they’ve failed, they’ve disappointed you, they’ve betrayed you, they’ve spectacularly belly-flopped off the pedestal on which you had placed them—ask the question.
When nothing makes sense and the walls are closing in—ask the question.
What does this make possible?
Now, let’s say you’ve asked the question. You’ve pondered deeply. You’ve searched high and low for a good answer to the question.
And you’ve got nothing.
Now what?
I’m going to refer to last week’s post.
When we reach the complete end of ourselves and all our resources—what does this make possible?
What it makes possible is that I can determine that I will trust God. There may never be enough objective, measurable, verifiable scientific evidence for this to make sense, but I will trust God.
I saw a quote somewhere that said, “Faith is not believing that God CAN, it is knowing that He WILL.”
It makes a great meme, but that’s not the faith I see described in the Bible. He can do what? He will do what? That quote seems outcome-based. And it very subtly puts the outcome back on us.
(If God doesn’t do what I know He can, then maybe my faith wasn’t deep enough.)
I’d like to suggest that faith is trusting that God IS, that He KNOWS, that He LOVES.
And that may be (to hijack the words of the 1989 song by Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt) all I need to know.
Let me rephrase the question: What does this trust make possible?
If we really and truly trust God, there is the possibility that we can forgive things we didn’t think we could otherwise.
We can release our need to see people as projects to fix or lost causes to abandon.
We can pray FOR people and not AT them.
We can be a friend to those with whom we strongly differ without feeling threatened by the differences.
We can stop letting offenses and grudges weigh us down and refuse to let offenders live rent free in our heads.
We can love people who have messed up their lives and pray that they would get what they need rather than what they deserve.
We can be agents of peace, grace, and reconciliation because we recognize that God is more than capable of handling His world that He loves and He doesn’t need our help.
That amazes me.
Be amazing today, my friend.
