GOD’S CHALLENGE TO ME

Are you like me and can't stand it when you are told that you can't do something? I really have to be careful because that can be a real problem for me. I've been told all my life that I can't do something for some reason or another. "You're a girl" or "You're too short," or "You aren't smart enough" or pretty enough or something else I am not enough of. I take all those negative comments as a challenges and run with them, proving many of them wrong. Thankfully, God can turn this weakness of mine around and turn it into a positive. He has a knack for that with everyone.

Ephesians 3:20 (KJV) says, "...Him that is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." A little background info on yours truly...

I am a writer. I always have been and I always will be. I have a writer's mind. By that I mean I am creative and imaginative. I think up stuff that many people could never think up. I am bragging. I'm bragging on God. He gave me this mind of mine. I am nothing without God. He is responsible for every good thing about me, in me and in my life. Because of my mind, Ephesians 3:20 is a Scripture I can grab a hold of and really run with. Here I go - I am on a roll.

That Scripture basically says that I can't out-think or out-dream God. It says He has me beat, that I can't do it. I know it is true; everything in the Bible is true and that verse is no exception. That doesn't mean I can't try. Boy, oh boy, do I try. God gets a kick out of me trying. I know He enjoys watching my wheels turn.

Like everybody else, I want the good stuff. I want the big stuff. I want all I can handle and little more - to stretch my boundaries so I can grow. I define the "good stuff" and the "big stuff" as the blessings from God. I want it all. Who doesn't want all the blessings?

How do you get blessings from God? You ask Him for them and believe you get them. It is just that simple. I do a lot of asking and believing. I ask and believe for all sorts of things. I always have. I use to be shy about asking, barely asking for enough to get by. I didn't want to bother God.

Not any more! I had a dear friend explain "Abba Daddy" to me. Abba means "daddy." She told me that God was just like an earthly daddy, only better. He loves to lavish His kids with as much as He can. God was never bothered when we asked for stuff. He loves it when we come to Him and ask for things. Remember the look on your Dad's face when you opened your Christmas or birthday presents? "Just what I wanted. Oh, thank you, Daddy," you might have said. Your dad was so proud. He had made you happy; he'd given you what you wanted. It is tough to say who was happier, you or your dad. I never knew God was like that. I didn't exactly have a dad like that, but I can relate that analogy to my grandfather. He was thrilled when he gave me stuff I asked for or wanted. Budgets sometimes get in the way here on earth. Thankfully, God has an unlimited and never-ending supply of "the good stuff." She went on to say that God created us so He could love us and take care of us, as well as so we could love Him. My wheels started turning and God started smiling.

Remember that verse and my weakness? Once I figured out God wanted me to ask for stuff so He could give it to me, I decided to use my creative and imaginative mind for something other than writing. I started asking God for stuff. I started believing God for that stuff. Wow! What a difference in my life. God challenged me with that verse in order to bless me the way He wants bless me.

Don't get the wrong idea. I don't ask for millions of dollars. Truth is, I don't really want a million dollars. Actually, I know it wouldn't be good for me. God knows that, too. For the same reason, I don't ask for ice cream three times a day. I said the "good stuff;" those things would not be good for me. This doesn't apply to the bad stuff or stuff that would hurt you or others. Can't stress it enough - this only applies to the good stuff.

What did I use to ask for? Health. Happiness. Enough money to meet my needs. To serve God to the best of my abilities. To exhibit the Fruits of the Spirit in all that I do. A happy, healthy family that didn't want for anything that was necessary.

Poor me. I was so clueless. I have a clue now. I know what is going on.

What do I ask for now? Now that I know that God wants me to ask for all the desires of my heart? I still ask for health, but I don't ask for happiness. I ask for "joy unspeakable and full of glory"! I ask for the finances to meet all of my needs and my family's needs and most of our wants. I ask for enough money to bless others as God sees fit. See, I'm still not selfish. Just because you are asking for good stuff that doesn't mean you are selfish. I ask for a ministry for me and my family, an on-fire-for-God ministry that lifts folks up, brings them closer to God, adds to the Kingdom of God. I don't ask to be brave enough to say "God bless you" to the person at the grocery store. I pray for and believe God for the boldness to tell everybody willing to listen (and some who aren't!) that God wants to take care of them, love them, bless them and all they have to do is ask for forgiveness, commit to Him and ask and believe for the good stuff. I ask that I overflow with the Fruits of the Spirit; so much so that others pick up my excess and use them in their lives. I ask and believe for a family that has "joy unspeakable and full of glory" and without even a cold or the sniffles. I don't just ask that for my immediate family; I claim that for my grandkids and great-grandkids. I have a three year-old so that is looking way down the road. I ask and believe God that our family's needs are met and my little one is able to go to that Ivy League school she may want to attend. The list goes on.

I ain't praying for hamburger. I am praying and believing for steak. Filet mignon, without the bacon wrapped around it because I don't like bacon. Bacon isn't the good stuff for me. I take that back. I am praying and believing God for prime rib. Center cut because I like that the best.

See, I'm asking for the good stuff. I'm believing for the good stuff. I ask big. I believe big. I think of even bigger stuff. I have a dream and a vision that I ask for; a dream and a vision just a few years ago I could not have ever ask for. It gets bigger everyday.

That is what I am doing. What is God doing? Just what He promised - "Exceedingly and abundantly above" all that I could ever think of or dream up.

Okay. I'm not on the Forbes list. We have more than enough and do not want for anything. We help folks out when they let us help them. We have that joy unspeakable. We have a ministry that impacts people everyday. No, we aren't on TV, but we are making a difference. We touch lives. That ministry is getting bigger and bigger all the time. I believe God that me, my husband and our little one are so on-fire for Him that those soon-to-be-Christians we meet want to turn a water hose on us. The Bible tell us to "call those things that are not as though they were." I do a lot of "calling." It gets bigger and bigger, keeps growing and growing.

I am so glad God told Paul to write that verse down. Sometimes, I think He had that written just for me. God knew me way back them, before I was ever born. He knew I wouldn't like it when folks told me I couldn't do something. So, He challenged me with that verse. God realized that would be a great way for Him to be able to bless me.

I know I can't ever come up with good stuff that is bigger and better than what God can do. I keep trying. God keeps smiling at me. And, He keeps blessing me. God continues to be more creative and imaginative than I could ever be when it comes to taking care of me and my family.

Even though I believe that verse is just for me, I also know that it applies to everyone else. God is more creative and imaginative than you are, than you could ever be. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Ask for the good stuff. Ask for the better stuff. Ask for the best stuff. Ask for the big stuff. Ask for the bigger stuff. Ask for biggest stuff. Bring God a lot of joy and give Him the opportunity to bless you in ways that you can't even dream of. Let God prove to you what "exceedingly and abundantly" really means!