October 15 ~ Mark 11:22-24
Jesus told his disciples:
Have
faith in God! If you have faith in God and don’t doubt, you can tell
this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. Everything
you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Several
years ago, I watched a certain televangelist’s morning program every
week. In fact, I recorded his “sermons” and studied them each Sunday
afternoon. Do not judge! I gained a lot of Bible knowledge from this
exercise. That is not to say that I believed everything this man taught
– or his interpretation of the scriptures he presented each day. He
took the scripture promise of Mark 11:22-24 in a totally different
direction – and he quoted other scriptures in an attempt to support his
stance.
This man believed that God wanted us to all live in
“McMansions”, drive an expensive vehicle (or own a fleet of cars), wear
expensive watches and diamond jewelry, own private jets and more. He
assured us that all of this was within our reach...if we would believe
for it AND “sow seeds” of money gifts to the church – even when we
couldn’t pay our light bill! This is called “prosperity
teaching/preaching”, and it’s become quite popular in certain
“Christian” circles. No apologies are made for having excessive
wealth...this is considered God’s reward or “favor” for faithfulness and
obedience.
One of the things I did learn from all of this was
how to study the scriptures for myself...to dig deeply and discover what
God intended me to glean from His word. And here’s what I feel He
tells me about this particular set of verses...”the rest of the story”!
If you continue reading in Mark 11, verses 25-26 say, “Whenever
you stand up to pray, you must forgive what others have done to you.
Then your Father in heaven will forgive your sins.” Oh, but wait! You
mean...I have to forgive others in order to “move that mountain”?
Certainly! John 15:16 says “You did not choose me. I chose you and sent
you out to produce fruit, the kind of fruit that will last. Then my
Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name.” So I have to ask
for GOD’s will rather than my own? Most definitely!
In Isaiah
55:9, God tells us, “Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my
thoughts and my ways are higher than yours.” Then we must not only have
faith in God...but also in His ways – even when they are not what we
expected or desired? Absolutely!
So while we may grow up wanting
to be an architect or ballerina...believing with every fiber of our
being that we will end up in the NBA or the NFL...or that we will marry
the person of our dreams, have 2.5 children and the proverbial “house
with the picket fence, two cars a dog and a cat” and live happily ever
after...God may have far different plans. We can believe all day long
that all we have to do is ask God for something, and He will give it to
us...but if it doesn’t fit into His perfect plan, this simply will not
happen. If we operate with anger, hatred, ill will or unforgiveness in
our hearts and ask God to produce certain results, we’ve gotten it all
wrong.
Understand this...God is in the business of miracles and
moving mountains. He is ready, willing, and able to answer our
prayers...to help us soar to heights beyond any we could ever imagine.
But this only happens within His will and the parameters that He has
outlined for us. We must have obedient faith...we must get rid
of any ulterior or selfish motives...we must come to Him with a humble
attitude and a genuine confidence that His answer is the best one. If
all of these things come together as God desires, the “mountain” will be
moved. If it is not...we must be ready to accept this and ask, “What
did YOU have in mind, LORD?”
I don’t know what
“mountains” you are asking God to move today. Perhaps you are asking
for healing for yourself or someone you know. Maybe you are struggling
at school or in the workplace...looking for a job...grappling with bills
and a way to make ends meet...fighting for your marriage or resolution
in another personal relationship...coping with the challenges of aging
(your own or someone else’s)...seeking a deeper spiritual connection
and/or grappling with relationships that involve fellow believers and/or
your church family. Whatever your situation entails...God has a plan.
He already knows what is best for us. But He wants us to ask for His
help...in the right way, with the right attitude and expectations.
A
lot of people want to tout the “power of positive thinking”...the
notion that if we just believe strongly enough...if we just envision
what we want with enough conviction...it will happen. Don’t leave God
out of this equation. There is no “secret”, as some would have you
believe. Everything is clearly spelled out in the scriptures...and
everything you ask for in prayer – according to God’s perfect will – can
indeed be yours. What are you asking for today...and how did you ask?
There is faith...and then there is faith. In which will you choose to operate? How you answer may spell the difference in what happens to the “mountain”!
©2014 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment