Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Joshua; 1:9 " Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
I was watching a movie with my young kids the other night called Ratatouille and even though I had seen the movie several times before, a certain line caught my attention.The little rat who was leading an aspiring chef's every move in the kitchen as he led him to a legendary status in the French culinary establishment was helping the young chef to overcome his fears and doubts that he had what it took to become a great chef. He told him " not everyone who wants will become a great chef, but a great chef can come from anyone." In other words, he shouldn't think that he couldn't become something he dreamed of being just because of his own fears and doubts. He should leave it up to others to decide if he was great or not and his job was to just try to do his best, and let the chips fall where they may. Although it wasn't stated this way, he was telling the young man to have faith and to trust in something greater than himself.
I started thinking of all of the times in my life where I have let self doubt or fear cripple my dreams before I even gave them a chance to come to fruition. The little voice that tells me that I don't have the pedigree or the background or the following to achieve something I desire has shipwrecked dreams before they have even taken root. That lack of confidence is capable of paralyzing even the most thoughtful of plans.
But the Bible is full of stories that should inspire me and you to try our best at whatever we endeavor to achieve and to leave the rest up to God. When we look at obstacles in our own strength and knowledge, it is easy to become fearful or discouraged. But when we look at things that stand in our way as obstacles that God can help us overcome, we are instantly aligned with a force in the universe that is so much greater than what we can imagine or understand. In our verse of the day, God is reminding Joshua to trust not in himself, and his capabilities or lack there of, but in God. God also has a still, small voice that says you can do it if you rely on me, through prayer, for strength and guidance. Philippians 4:13 reminds is that " we can do all things though Him who gives us strength." We see hurdles; God sees opportunities to glorify himself in our weakness. Isaiah 55: 8-9 reminds us that God ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts so much greater than our thoughts.
Can you imagine the complete shock and awe of Moses, David and Goliath, to name a few Bible heroes, when God let them know through various means and ways that they were to be vessels through which God would display his incredible strength and glory? Moses said to God, you must have the wrong man, I am a murderer and suffer from a speech impediment. How can you use me to lead your people out of slavery? David was the least likely of Jesse's sons to be chosen by Samuel as the one who was to be anointed King of Israel. So much so that he wasn't even included in the original bake-off. His brothers openly scoffed at him when he ran to the battle line to take on the giant Goliath. They told him to get them some food and to go back to the farm. They had known him only as their little shepherd brother, not as the man that God was going to use to crush Goliath and the Philistine's mighty army. Gideon was so shocked that the Angel of the Lord told him he was going to be the one who lead the destruction of the powerful Midianites that he needed a sign from the Lord himself. He then stood in disbelief as God whittled his army from 32,000 down to 300 and said to him now you are in a position to win. How? Gideon must have been stunned.
They, like you and I would, were thinking there must have been a mistake or they would be second guessing whether or not they were losing their minds. Certainly all of those around them could not grasp what was happening. They could do nothing else but doubt, mock and ridicule what God was doing in and through them. But all of these heroes of the Bible had a few common traits that they leaned on when being called by God, after they had gotten over their own disbelief. They surrendered to the will of God even though they didn't fully understand it. They were willing and available. They were humble and they ultimately saw the obstacles and battles not as their own, but as God's.
These stories should give us great hope. There is a Biblical road map and a process that we can follow to help us to overcome our own fears and doubts when tackling our own personal giants. We must surrender to His will, through prayer and time spent in His word. We must be willing to be used by God. We must be humble. We must not lean on our strength or understanding, but trust fully in His. We will not all be used in mighty ways to accomplish God's big purposes, but we can all be confident that God will be with us in and through our own personal struggles. God uses ordinary people like us to do extraordinary things so He can get all the glory. Ask Gideon. People will not understand it. We will not understand it. But He will accomplish His goals and do it in a way that makes the most people scratch their heads. Why did He do it that way? Why did He use that person? Someone whom I admire greatly told me the other day that the two words we will use the most in Heaven are " of course." Once we are able to have a greater vision of how God operates and how "He works everything out for good for those who love Him," as stated in Romans 8:28, we will then say of course that is why He did it that way. Of course that is why He used that person.
There are so many things that can enslave us in this world, be it addiction, abuse, abandonment, financial calamities or loneliness. There is only one thing that can set us free and that is to know and trust the love of the Lord and the plans He has for our lives. Jeremiah 29:11 says " For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you; plans to give you hope and a future." Our job is to trust Him even when all we can see are the valleys or the obstacles. It is then we learn to rely on Him alone and it is then we are in position to be used mightily by God to glorify Him. One day it will all make sense!
