As I sit in my office/guest room I can hear the sounds of ash hitting the window. I look outside and see the leaves of our pear tree and the palms across the street rustle in the wind.
We just drove home from Oregon, and I was the closest I have ever been to a raging forest fire.
We drove down into the valley where we live and past a lake that is ghastly low. The planes buzzed above us carrying water from the lake to the forest.
The phrase “peace be still” crosses my mind and slowly I utter it. I am no Smokey the Bear, but I am pretty sure the winds aren’t helping those brave men and women fighting the fire.
I am reminded of Jesus words to us about faith as small as mustard seed and being able to move mountains.
Sometimes I wonder if the reason we as believers don’t experience the authority we carry is because we simply don’t risk.
We like safe.
This weekend a young boy came to me for prayer about believing in miracles. A few moments later, we had the opportunity to pray for his mom’s legs (one was shorter than the other and this is often the cause of lower back pain). She sat down in the chair, and I was faced with a choice.
Do I pray and command her leg to grow out, OR do I take a risk and have this young guy (who I knew had very little faith) utter the same words?
Do I put my faith in myself or in a BIG God?
I choose the later. So, one time he said “In the name of Jesus leg grow out”. And within a matter of seconds her legs were even again or perhaps for the first time, and the back pain she had for years was significantly lessoned.
The point of the story is God is AMAZING. He is so eager to work through our hands to show people how much He loves them.
It’s not really about having faith in our faith, it’s about having faith in a God who is better than we could ask or imagine! It’s about trusting that He loves to show up! It’s about how good He is, not how worthy we are. It’s not about our imperfections and failures, it’s about Him.
And to Him, we are worth it.
He is just waiting for opportunities to pour out His love through His kids. Yes He is God and He can sovereignly reach down from heaven and invade someones life.
Sometimes He does.
But often I find He likes to work through us. He loves to show up when we take risks.
Who can you love today?
What storms can you declare “peace be still” over?
(And please pray with us for rain in California and for these fires to STOP!)
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