For you are great and do amazing things. You alone are God.
Psalm 86:10 (NET)
Scripture: Psalm 86: 1-13
God is an awesome God Who does amazing, miraculous things. Jesus challenged those He came in contact with – and He challenges us. This devotion will looks at how God challenges us and supports us through those challenges.
Cliff Notes
- Jesus was always about His Father’s business and challenges us to grow in our faith.
- Sometimes, God allows the storm to rage around us so we can prove to Him – and ourselves – that He will be there for us.
- We don’t have to figure out how Jesus died and rose again to believe He did.
We just got done with a week of Vacation Bible School. It is always a week filled with great songs, great snacks, and great crafts. Most of all, it has great stories.
This year was no exception. We were talking about amazing encounters with Jesus.
Jesus in the Temple
I wonder what it would have been like for the priests and the scribes when Jesus visited the temple when He was 12 (Lk. 2: 41-52). They were probably used to being considered the smartest things around.
Luke 2: 46-47 says, “After three days they [His parents] found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (RSV).
I wonder, though, if listening and asking was all that Jesus was doing. Part of me says He was challenging, too.
Doesn’t God usually do that? We aren’t supposed to just learn enough about Him to believe and leave it at that. We are supposed to “… continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ …” (II Pet. 3: 18 GNT). I just don’t see Him passing up an opportunity to show them the true meaning of Scriptures.
Jesus was always cognizant to the fact that He “must be about [His] Father’s business” (Lk. 2: 41 KJV). He loves us so much that He will not pass up an opportunity to help us grow our faith.
Walking on Water
Another story was where Jesus walked on the water (Mt. 14: 22-33). That was really a miracle.
Did you see how Peter responded? “… Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water” (Mt. 14: 28 CEV). Some of the translations use the word command (ESV, NASB).
I see this as a challenge, too. Yes, Peter was questioning. He didn’t have the rock-solid faith he had later.
But God lets us question Him. He knows we can get overwhelmed at times and shift our focus off of Him and onto the waves around us.
I bet on the inside of Him, Jesus was pumping His fist and saying, “Yes! At least one of them got out of the boat!!!”
To read Why Did Peter Want Jesus to Wash More Than Just His Feet?, click the button below.
Sometimes, God allows the storm to rage around us so we can prove to Him – and ourselves – that He will be there for us. Even if we take our eyes off Him, He will be there for us.
Do you ever wonder how Peter’s faith grew that day? Yes, Jesus called Him to do this humanly impossible thing. Yes, he was good at the get-go, but messed it up in the end. But he learned the only way he could do the impossible was when He was walking the path God had laid out.
The next time God called Peter to do the impossible, I bet he thought back to this event. He remembered, “… With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mt. 19: 26 HCSB).
Miracle at Jesus’ Baptism
We talked not long ago about Jesus’ baptism. One of the aspects of His baptism was that the Father and the Spirit showed up.
Baptism can, at times, be challenging. I told you on the About Me page, that I was baptized twice. After I grew a little, I felt that I really didn’t give my life to God the first time I had gone forward. So, I went forward later.
After I had graduated and moved out, I was convicted that I had been baptized when I wasn’t really saved. This presented a challenge to me.
You see, I don’t swim. Not only that, I don’t really like water. It took me a long time to get used to the switch from a bath to a shower. To this day, I do not get my face wet.
And I am supposed to purposefully get myself dunked? Ooo, baby!
Pastor ER and I worked out how we could get this done without me flipping out. Instead of getting laid back and brought back up, I went straight down and came back up. There was this split second when I fought back, but the challenge was met and overcome.
God is going to challenge us. He is going to ask us to step out of our comfort zones. He is going to have us face our fears.
And God is going to be there the whole time with His arms out to pull us up out of the water. He doesn’t want us to sink. He will allow us to choose to sink, but He doesn’t want us to sink.
Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
Jesus’ death and resurrection was miraculous. That He came to give His life so that we might live is amazing. That He actually was dead and came back to life and still lives is miraculous.
The challenge for us is to understand that. No, let me rephrase that. The challenge for us is to put our understanding aside and just believe.
We don’t have to figure it out. We don’t have to replicate it in some scientific way.
We have to say, “God, You are all-powerful. You can do whatever You want in any way You want. It isn’t about us. It is about You.”
Making the Connections
I got a couple of things out of this. (I’ve told you, God talks to me on this first.) We can’t be control freaks. Yes, there are many things through the years in Adam’s world that I tried to control to try to make sure he didn’t have a meltdown.
God is ultimately in control. We have to let Him be. We may have our free will and make our choices, but God is still in total control of the situations.
We won’t understand everything all the time – we are not supposed to. Proverbs 3: 5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (NIV). If we are trying to control and understand, we aren’t trusting.
We need to trust because God can do all sorts of things that we can’t. Remember, “… With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mt. 19: 26 HCSB). That takes it totally outside our realm of knowledge and understanding.
Let’s go back to Proverbs 3: 6 a second. I grew up with the verse saying, “in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (KJV). It is also translated “… submit …” (NIV), “remember …” (GNT), and “think about him …” (HCSB). Wow! Those are different.
I kind of see a progression there. We have to think about God. We shouldn’t go through our lives and just ignore Him completely. But we have to do more than that.
We have to acknowledge God. We have to make a decision. It is like the old hymn says, we aren’t offered any other choice — for or against Him — we have to choose today.
Vocalist: Elaine Guthals
Pianist: Chris Vieth
If you have not admitted that your relationship is not right with God,
have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior,
and have not confessed your sins,
please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
We have to remember God. It is so easy to get caught up in our day-to-day lives that we not only take our focus off of Him, but we also forget about Him all together. We can’t do that.
We have to submit to God. We have to accept that He us our Sovereign Lord and yield to His authority.
Look at verse 6 again. “Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Prov. 3: 6 NLT). To me, that encapsulates all the other words. We think, acknowledge, remember, and submit when we seek Him.
How Do We Apply This?
Well, you know what one of my answers is going to be — seek God. Do the progression. We might be on the thinking step in one area and the submitting step in another area. Truth be told, we are probably on each step in different aspects.
We have to rise to the challenge. I told you that Adam and I are going on a mission trip. It is challenging as neither of us have been on a mission trip before. We don’t know what to expect.
Financially, it has been challenging. It has been amazing to see how God has worked it out that we are even able to go.
Another challenge is physically doing this. With Adam’s digestive issues and sleep issues and both of us having sinus problems and being picky eaters, it is easy to focus on what could go wrong.
I keep telling myself to just chill and focus. I need to submit and seek. With God’s guidance, we can overcome the challenges.
God will challenge us. That is one of the ways He helps us to grow. We just need to keep seeking Him.
Father God. You have done miraculous things in the past. You continue to do miraculous things. We may not acknowledge them as miraculous, but they are. Help us to face each challenge because we are seeking You. Amen.
What do you think? How is God challenging you today? Do you feel His support while you are facing this? If not, how do you need to seek Him more?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
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