Calling you out!

A bit of research revealed that calling out, in essence, is the act of pointing an accusatory finger at an individual and saying something bad about them.

In this instance, I have nothing bad to say about you or anyone else. I am pointing a finger in what I’m going to say, and if you feel that it’s pointed at you, then I dare you to do something about it. You read it right: I dare you to do something about it.

You see, I want to do more than simply get your attention, or stir your curiosity, or entice you to read this because I wrote it. This is not about your attention, your curiosity, or my endeavors. This is about you and your journey, and above all else, I want you to get it, because when you do, you’re just not gonna be the same.

What is it that I so desperately want you to get?

It is the rock upon which I stand. It is the basis of my faith in God. It is what allows me to stand firm in the storms, and to walk without fear in my heart when things seem to be at their very worst.

It’s not about whether or not I believe in God, or in the Holy Spirit, or that Jesus is the Risen King, the Savior of the world. To be sure, and just so there’s no room for doubt, I believe in all of the above with all that is in me.

This is about the depth of my belief in God, and I offer you the one verse in the Bible that sums it up best for me:

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

All things.

Notice that Jesus didn’t say a “few things”, or “several things”, or “many things”. Jesus didn’t put any limitations on his Father or His abilities. Imagine him looking at you in the eyes and without the slightest notion of doubt, saying “Look, our Father can do anything! Anything! Don’t you get it? There’s nothing that he can’t do. Nothing.”

Why do we have such a hard time wrapping our minds around what Jesus told us? Why can we so easily accept his teachings on life, love, giving, forgiveness, and salvation, yet not accept the fact that his Father, who is our Father, can do all things?

Okay, you know that I wouldn’t have posed those questions to you if I didn’t have an answer for them. Actually, I have a few answers, and I’ll be honest in telling you that while they may not be the answers, they’re what God put on my heart.

·         The word Father. It’s not so much the word as it is the thought process and confusion that goes with it. As children, we look to our earthly fathers as being our heroes. They can do no wrong. In our eyes, minds, and hearts, they “hung the moon.” Unfortunately, at some point all of us come to realize that our earthly fathers, even the very best of them, aren’t perfect. As mortal men, they come equipped with limitations and flaws. When we’re hit with the reality, I believe that a smart part of us dies inside, along with a sliver of hope that comes with it.

Our heavenly Father, on the other hand is perfection. He has no flaws, no weaknesses, and no shortcomings. He’s always with us, even when we don’t feel his presence. His forgiveness knows no bounds, and His love is everlasting.

·         Satan doesn’t want you to believe that with God all things are possible. You see, the absolute belief that God can do anything filling our minds and hearts leaves no room for fear, doubt, and worry, just a few of the weapons that Satan has in his arsenal to use against us.

·         Our hearts. We’re afraid of putting too much faith in God and then being disappointed if things don’t work out the way that we want them to.  Throughout our lives, we’ve been let down because of the unmet expectations that we put in others, and we’ve felt the hurt that accompanied the resulting disappointments. In our minds, because He is God, we feel that the disappointment would be too great to bear. And curiously enough, we believe that He is our last bastion of hope.

·         Our minds. Because of our own limitations, weaknesses, fears, and frailties, we have a hard time freeing our minds enough to believe that anyone, even God, has none. NONE. He doesn’t.

With God, all things are possible.  

That’s not just from Scripture. It’s from my heart, and there is no doubt in my mind that it’s absolutely true. NONE.

So how do we get you there, if you’re not?

May I offer you a couple of suggestions?

The first is an affirmation, which is a brief verbal statement about an experience that we’re trying to have, or a goal that we’re trying to reach. When we say an affirmation, and especially when we say it out loud, it works its way into our subconscious and becomes reality. Why out loud? For some reason, when we actually hear words of affirmation come out of our mouths, we’re more prone to believe them. And the more we say them, the more we believe them.

Would you be willing to try this? If you haven’t figured it out, I’ve already given you the affirmation.

With God, all things are possible.

Every day, for the next several weeks, I’d like for you to repeat this affirmation as often as possible. Say it out loud, and say it like you mean it. If you’re at work or in a public place and can’t say it out loud, shout it out in your mind. I want you to own it. Make it a part of you, an extension of who you are.

Here’s the thing. In the beginning, it doesn’t matter if you really believe it or not. I mean, if you’ve never believed that with God all things are possible, you’re surely not gonna believe it just because you’ve said it a couple of times. It takes time, and it takes patience, and it takes you loosening up your mind enough to entertain the notion that it’s true. It’ll come, and when it does, your walk is gonna get so much easier. You see, believing that God can do anything gives birth to hope in every situation. 

Oh, and there’s one other thing that I’m going to recommend that you do each morning: PRAY.

I’d like to offer this prayer to you. It’s an outpouring of my heart. If you’ll say this prayer, or perhaps one using your own thoughts each day, I believe that God will stir in you like never before. What’s most important is that you ask to believe.

Lord God, I humbly stand before You in prayer. I need to believe that with You all things are possible, and I need Your help to do it. I ask, Father, that You remove any bandages from my eyes that prevent me from seeing you as You truly are. I pray that You give me the courage to completely open my heart to You, allowing me to love You and to receive Your love in a way that I’ve never done before. I ask, Father God, that You open my mind to believe that there is nothing too big for You; no illness, no challenge, no problem, and no dream.

I ask this is Jesus’ name. Amen.