I’m coming to the realization that I tend to maintain two rather unhealthy tensions. I torture myself with the constant battle of what I think God’s asking of me vs what I think I’m capable of. And then, on the flip side, I’m torn between the vast reality of what God’s capable of and even wills and the puny portion I’m willing to ask Him for. A family member of mine was recently sitting in the lobby of the hospital where her husband was in the throws of battling stage-four brain cancer. On this much-needed break, she was nervously approached by an apologetic young stranger who politely suggested that God had prompted her to stop and offer encouragement. The young lady’s demeanor was evidence enough that she wasn’t oblivious to how peculiar this encounter would appear. With only a general nudge, no context to go on, and certainly lacking the specific words of encouragement she would speak, the young lady conceded and made her fearful approach. She was completely dumbfounded to discover that this sorrowful soul was one of His own. No words were needed and in fact, her obedience alone was enough to remind this dearly treasured child of The King that her heavenly Father would carry her through this valley of darkest shadows. Mission complete. And to think: God could use this girl without a thorough understanding of the circumstances, no past experience with the terminally ill, and overflowing with apprehension and timidity… Who are we to decide what He requires, right? But while I over overestimate His prerequisites I often underestimate His aptitude. Aptitude being: One’s natural ability to do something. But He’s not confined to the natural. He’s supernatural. Take the widow woman and the bottomless jar of oil. She was told by the prophet Elisha to borrow empty jars for the miracle God was about to do with her last bit of oil. Elisha said and “not too few.” In other words, no matter how many jars you borrow, when you see this, you’re gonna wish you’d borrowed more. Because, as she was pouring and God was multiplying her oil, it never ran out until she ran out of empty jars. Yet with thousands of years worth of accounts like this one available to inform my faith, I’m all, “Could I trouble you for half a jar please, if it’s not too much trouble..?” And He’s all, “I don’t do crumbs. I do feasts!” The bottom line is that the omniscient Creator God of the universe who calls us sons and daughters isn’t going commission us beyond our capability. His prerequisite is our obedience. And these sons and daughters of His can’t even begin to conceive of anything beyond His ability. So let’s stop letting our deficient assessment of His aptitude diminish our hopes, dreams, vision and goals. If you can imagine it, and even [if not especially] when you can’t, He’s more than capable, and He longs to see the faith in your asks.
