How Do We Limit God?
But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory…
Luke 9:32 (NKJV)
Lesson #8 on Journey to a Water Well.
Have you ever heard if you do what you can do, God will do what only He can do? God demonstrated this reality in the spring of 2015. Beginning in February 2015, God initiated a series of prompts regarding financial gifts to the unknown well. After a bit of angst and a series of debates with God regarding the donations, I relented and took the steps of faith requested.
By early June, it was time to celebrate with Ben at his end-of-the-year kindergarten party with games and a special lunch. Armed with ketchup and ranch, the room mom directed me towards the children, eagerly awaiting their favorite condiments for the chicken nuggets. As I moved down the line, I was drawn to a conversation between a volunteer and the student seated beside my Ben. We’re going to miss you when you move to Uganda. My ears perked. Uganda? As I approached him, I asked, Are you moving to Uganda? His eyes widened, but his face was expressionless. He nodded yes. Are you from Uganda? Same nod. Do you have family in Uganda? His expression remained the same, but his nod shifted to no.
I noticed the boy’s mother in deep conversation by the tree on the playground. Once her conversation opened, I introduced myself and made the connection between Ben and her son.
Without much delay, I mentioned Uganda and our heart for Africa. She graciously indulged my suspicions. Yes, they were moving to Uganda in three weeks. They sold their home as well as most of their possessions and cars. Their two older children would remain in the states, and the younger boys would head to Uganda with her and her husband. My new friend’s mission was to build and run a secondary school in Uganda. With further prodding, she shared they would be working with Amazima Ministries. My eyes widened as I gasped. We love “Kisses from Katie”! My friend smiled and almost chuckled.
Enthusiasm unexpectedly sprung from within, but tears welled as I considered the ramifications of their yes. Joy merged poignantly with grief.
It is odd to realize you never know when God will show up and blindside you. Sometimes we’re tempted to organize our lives in boxes and label them. God. School. Work. Family. This way, we gain better control over our lives, thoughts, and emotions.
But we limit our lives when we limit God. And we limit God when we put Him in a box and only pull Him out on cue.
God doesn't want to be confined to churches, pews, or sermons. He wants to invade conversations between mothers on playgrounds if we let Him.
God had been teaching me how to love him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, but He was also teaching me loving Him meant taking Him everywhere and giving Him access to everything. It meant listening for His subtle whispers and obeying when signaled.
I didn't expect God on the playground, just like the disciples didn't expect a Transfiguration. Luke chapter 9 tells us Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain to pray. I love that Luke records the realities by sharing a subtle but powerful truth, “Peter and his companions were very sleepy.”.
The fact that they were sleepy and eventually fell asleep makes me believe that maybe there was a part of them that would have rather gone home and to bed. And perhaps this prayer excursion seemed a little mundane or even trivial.
But when they woke up on that mountain, they saw Moses, Elijah, and Jesus transfigured into His radiant glory. All because they were willing to go when Jesus said, let’s go. They did not restrict their obedience to when it was convenient, easy, or when they were well rested. They did not confine Jesus by putting Him in a box and pulling Him out only on cue. Instead, they spilt their boxes and allowed Jesus access to every area of their lives. And because they did, Jesus took them to secret places and revealed divine realities.
When obedience becomes your habit, transfigurations become your reality. You wake up to the greater manifestation of God. Jesus takes you to secret places and transforms your soul. He gives you insights into heavenly places. The catch is he does not tell you which act of obedience yields the miracle.
Your obedience matters.
Obedience matters when it looks mundane, trivial, or insignificant. Saying yes matters because you never know what is on the other side of obedience. Maybe it is a prayer, but it might be a transfiguration. Ultimately, it will be fulfillment.
Access matters.
Giving God access to all the conceivable spaces in your life matters. God will not show up on the treadmill or the playground if you haven't granted Him access. He won’t feed 5,000 if you don't give Him your fish.
We need to do what we can and allow God to do what He will. I made monthly financial allocations to an unknown water well, but I had no control over a book gifted to me or a chance encounter with a new friend on the playground three weeks before she moved halfway around the world. Those were divinely orchestrated.
I certainly have not mastered these truths. Last week, I refused Jesus access to the restroom at the Denver Airport. As I washed my hands, God told me to compliment the lady cleaning the facilities. Instead, I argued with God about His request and pushed through the crowded facility without saying a word.
So, I’m preaching to myself more than you. I want to experience God’s transfigurations, and I can’t help but wonder what was on the other side of that obedience/compliment. I’ll never know if it was a smile or a transfiguration. All I know is if I want to see Jesus feed the 5,000, I must be willing to give Him my fish.
Lesson #8 learned on a Journey to a Water Well.
If we grant God access to as many spaces in our lives as conceivable, it will open the door for radical encounters with God on the days we least expect it.
Want More? Start Here.
Read Luke 9: 28-36
Verse 28 says “Jesus took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.” Do you believe Peter, John and James were the only ones invited or the only ones willing to go?
Which do you believe more: 1. God is not inviting you on secret adventures with Him? You are refusing to go on secret adventures with God? What role does our obedience or disobedience play in this scenario?
Luke records the disciple’s humanity in this chapter. He informs us that the disciples were very sleepy, and that Peter failed to recognize Jesus’ deity but instead equated Him with Moses and Elijah. What does this say about God’s expectation of our spiritual or physical perfection?
Have you been tempted to believe God requires your spiritual or physical perfection in order to be used powerfully by Him or invited into the secret places of the Most High? How does this passage confront that thought pattern?