I heard something in church yesterday that I needed reminded of badly, one of those things that makes you go out from church 50 pounds lighter than when you came in. No matter how much I'd like to deny it, I had been focusing great attention to the "mountains" in my life. There are currently several of them, seemingly lined up in a row like the Rockies all in front of me. Yes I am a faith person. Yes I believe the grain of mustard faith will cast them flying into the sea (at least I confess I do). But this wasn't getting it for me. Wasn't changing the circumstances. And there is the problem. Circumstances.
I was trying to change circumstances. My attention and focus was on circumstances. My mountains are comprised of circumstances - almost like pyramids constructed of building blocks of circumstances. Each of them are monolithic and massive to me but each of them have been formed by an intermingling of circumstances to cause them to sit squarely in my way, in opposition to where I desire to be. What's wrong with knowing the circumstances? What is wrong with being informed about what you are dealing with? Nothing. What was wrong with Peter knowing that the waves wouldn't logically support a man when he stepped on them? Nothing. But when he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the waves he sank. Jesus was the Living Word. We have the Word and when we take our focus off of it and put it on the circumstances we can expect very little to move in our favor.
One of the mountains I am looking at is finances right now. We have a particular situation that we are praying over and there are tens of thousands of dollars involved. To us, this is Mt. Everest. I'm not a millionaire, so this is not play money. This is on the order of college savings, retirement accounts, etc. This is enormous, right? Here's something our pastor said yesterday that struck me in the chest. "One check can change your circumstance, but the Word of God does not change or falter". WOW! I've been mulling this one since he said it and he is right on. This Everest to me is a pimple to the One who holds the cosmos in his palm and yet loves me enough to know how many hairs are on my head.
This Everest, or any other mountain for that matter, is nothing to the one who commanded the suns to burst into being, and yet clothes the flowers of the field and feeds the birds. He designed the water molecule with intricate precision so that ice would not be too heavy and sink to the ocean floors causing the earth's waters to freeze over. He calculated the proper amount of iron in the earth's core to generate a magnetic field to repel the harmful electromagnetic bombardment from our own star while still absorbing its life giving warmth. He designed the intricate colorings of the thousands of petals of the spring and the fragrances of each and simultaneously keeps in check the galactic churnings of violent gravaties that consume suns and planets through black holes and balance the galaxies. Is my tens of thousands of dollars too great a mountain for this God? Is cancer too great for this God? Is death too great for this God?
I happen to like a song on Christian radio right now that has a phrase in it that states "we're all just one phone call from our knees" because this is true. No matter how strong our walk, how close to God, or even how "successful" we've become in our own or everyone else's eyes, every one of us is just one word from devestation. Life on this orb is uncertain because this is a fallen planet. Sin was introduced and has been running rampant since the garden. Order was broken and chaos ensued. Jesus changed all of this for us, however. We don't have to live victim to chaos and circumstance. Certainly chaos and disorder occur all around us, but they do not have to move us if we are founded on Him. If we are rooted in His Word. This is what he was telling us with the mustard seed faith. This is what he taught Peter on the stormy lake.
Circumstance does not dictate, because circumstance changes. The only immutable unchangeable in all of existence is this Word, this God, this Holy Spirit. Only here is there dependability, trust, something that you can build upon and remain firmly grounded. When the stock markets are falling and housing starts are nil and inflation is uncontrollable and the news is spouting global problem after global problem such as why oranges are going to be more expensive this year and bombings in Pakistan and earthquakes in Asia - circumstance after circumstance, wave after wave - we have Jesus. We have the Word. Listen to how our God is described in Ephesians 3:20:
"Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]" (Ampliphied)
That power that is at work within us is HIM. His Word within us, His Holy Spirit. Dig in - entrench yourself. Having done all to stand, stand. These are the principles that cause the circumstances to change. It is not us changing the circumstances but our holding fast to what the Word says that forces the cirucmstances to come into line with our faith.
What's your mountain? Health? Relationships? Finance? All of these are subject to change because all of them are comprised of circumstance and God is big enough to wipe all of them out with one check.
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