Could You Do the Extraordinary?
It's easy to read or hear about the lives of some of the people in the Bible and wonder, "That's great, but could that actually happen to me?" We read that Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt, spent years in prison, and yet against all odds became the prime minister of Egypt. We wonder, "Could I even begin to accomplish what Joseph did?" Moses was born into slavery, his family had no resources, he was supposed to be killed by orders of Pharaoh, and he spent forty years as a shepherd in the wilderness, yet he led the liberation of two million Israelites from Egypt. We wonder, "Could I ever have the courage to face Pharaoh?" Esther was a Jewish orphan living in exile in Persia, yet she became the queen of the nation with tremendous influence and saved her entire people. We wonder, "Do I have what it takes to put my life on the line for others as she did?"
I'm wondering today if you sometimes fall into the same trap that I do on occasion. Have you ever wanted to believe for something really big in your life and pray a big prayer, but you stopped because you looked at yourself and realized you don't have the resources or the connections or the experience to do something extraordinary? In the Scripture, that's what Nehemiah faced. He lived in exile in Persia and was the cupbearer of the king. When he heard that the walls of Jerusalem had been broken down, he had a desire to go and rebuild the walls, but he had no resources, no money, no expertise, and no influence. He wasn't a governor or a general. But he prayed and dared to ask the king to send him, and the king not only granted Nehemiah the time to take off, but he sent with him the resources and the official papers to do the work. So how did it happen? Nehemiah says, "Because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests" (Nehemiah 2:8), and the walls were rebuilt.
Too often we limit God because we don't feel that we have what it takes. We forget to look at our God and His resources to do the extraordinary. We forget that He designed us to be special. Today, I want to encourage you to believe for God to do extraordinary things in your life. Your victories are not going to be won by your own strength but by God's gracious hand of favor on your life. Receive His favor today as a free gift, then receive it again tomorrow, and know that you can accomplish the extraordinary!
I'm wondering today if you sometimes fall into the same trap that I do on occasion. Have you ever wanted to believe for something really big in your life and pray a big prayer, but you stopped because you looked at yourself and realized you don't have the resources or the connections or the experience to do something extraordinary? In the Scripture, that's what Nehemiah faced. He lived in exile in Persia and was the cupbearer of the king. When he heard that the walls of Jerusalem had been broken down, he had a desire to go and rebuild the walls, but he had no resources, no money, no expertise, and no influence. He wasn't a governor or a general. But he prayed and dared to ask the king to send him, and the king not only granted Nehemiah the time to take off, but he sent with him the resources and the official papers to do the work. So how did it happen? Nehemiah says, "Because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests" (Nehemiah 2:8), and the walls were rebuilt.
Too often we limit God because we don't feel that we have what it takes. We forget to look at our God and His resources to do the extraordinary. We forget that He designed us to be special. Today, I want to encourage you to believe for God to do extraordinary things in your life. Your victories are not going to be won by your own strength but by God's gracious hand of favor on your life. Receive His favor today as a free gift, then receive it again tomorrow, and know that you can accomplish the extraordinary!