For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient— 19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God… (Romans 15:18-19)
Dear People Who Keep Company with God,
Have you ever heard testimonies of miraculous things God is doing and instead of being inspired, you get discouraged, down on yourself or even cynical?
Once I was listening to Rolland and Heidi Baker, founders of Iris Ministries, share some of the stories of what God did through their ministry to the poorest of the poor. As they shared, I started feeling down on myself. I wondered why I wasn’t experiencing such marvelous things.
If you have ever felt something like this, you should consider that you feel this way because of the desire to live a life of significance and purpose. God is our Father, and we have inherited His creative and power-filled nature. We all are born with the desire for significance and purpose. It is our predetermined sense of destiny.
It is easy to reason away your God-given desire for significance and purpose when it gets buried under the rubble of disappointment and failure. When your heart is in that place, the religious spirit will try to convince you that you don’t measure up, and that God is not able to use you. You may even become cynical about other’s testimonies of God’s power. But God sends those messengers with testimonies of His awesome works to awaken and stir you to lay hold of your true destiny.
If you pursue a life of significance and purpose, you will find yourself in situations and circumstance where the needs are far greater than your ability to meet them. I have been in the nations where the people live in desperate situations and were pressing in on me for a touch from God. I thought of the people that pressed in on Jesus for His miraculous touch and longed for more of the Spirit’s power.
If you only see these type of circumstances with your natural eyes, it is terribly disheartening. You can either give up or recognize that it’s an invitation to experience the power of the Spirit of God. To live your destiny, over and over you have to embrace the tension of opportunity and scarcity. That is where the power of God shows up.
As a young pastor, I thought that one day I would be capable and competent in the things I was called to do. I have never gotten there. My experience is the opposite. Although I am a seasoned pastor now, and God has entrusted me with revelations, wisdom, and anointing, I still feel like a beginner. Every time I am about to do any ministry, I feel the tension of opportunity and the weakness of being an earthen vessel. I strongly sense the need for the power of the Spirit.
Your greatest strengths, your gifting, and anointing, the things Christ has already accomplished in and through you can become your biggest liabilities to living your destiny if you put your trust in them.
You must embrace the brokenness that comes with a life that never outgrows a felt need and awareness of dependence upon God. That is the womb of the true testimonies of God’s miraculous works. This is what being poor in spirit is all about. It is how the presence and power of the kingdom of heaven is released into and through your life.
Many Blessings, BW