Gotta have...

Well what do you gotta have?

Check this passage out with me…
18Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully
persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
Romans 4:18-21 NIV

The original story goes that Abraham was told by God that he would be a father of many people...so many that they would look like stars in the sky or sand on the shore to him.
That is a lot of people!
That is a pretty ridiculously looking promise coming from God!

I think God hasn’t changed.
He still makes BIG promises to us because He has a fantastic plan for your life. That plan is supposed be beyond your own imaginational level.

On a side note...If you think God’s plan is simple and achievable without something miraculous, then I suspect it’s not His plan for you.
Check in with Him and get an upgrade…

Anyway, Abraham did some things as he waited for God’s promise to come to pass. But all of them related back to something you gotta have...Faith!
Whatever big promise you are waiting for you gotta have faith as well. It is non negotiable.

It doesn’t matter if it looks hopeless.
It doesn’t matter what the circumstances say.
If God said it, then faith is what you need to get you to that promise.
And didn’t God say that faith is a gift? So if you find yourself lacking in the faith department, get asking for some of that gift!

Do what you can today to strengthen your faith, not weaken it.
Do what you can to be fully persuaded that this God you serve, can do as He has promised.

Something to think about…

hills

For most of my life the cars that I have owned have struggled to get up hills.
Either I felt like I needed a ‘run up’ to get over them or I employed a crazy technique of leaning into the steering wheel to aid the cars climb. Sometimes rocking backwards and forwards seemed like a good idea...
The second technique must have looked stupid!
In fact I am laughing at myself as I write this…

Hills are different to me now.
With my new hobby of road cycling, hills represent a whole new challenge to me. You can’t just get a ‘run up’ or lean forward if you want to successfully get over one.
I have also learnt that it is not just about effort.

Getting over hills for me is all about what I believe!
I remind myself before I start my climb that I can do it.
I remind myself that the short term effort will be rewarded with the satisfaction of making it to the top.
I even remind myself that no matter how big the hill may be...that God is always bigger.

In life as well, you face many hills.
‘Run-ups’ or simply leaning into the challenges we face is not enough to guarantee success.
I remind myself about who God is whenever I face my hills. I talk to myself and tell ‘me’ that with God on my side I can do it. I also focus on the satisfaction I will feel making it over the challenge before me.

Just like the Bible reminds us...if God is for us, who (or what) can stand against us?

So can I encourage you to not hope you will make it?
Rather place your hope in the One who can guarantee you will make it.
Remind yourself who is bigger.
Remind yourself again and again…

See you at the top!

Something to think about…