Stretch

I heard it while I was thinking about raising the dead. Years ago, I was assailed with the irrational and yet very heavy and present fear that someone I loved was going to die. There was no reason for this fear, but then there rarely is. I just knew that I was going to lose this person immediately. While I prayed over the fear God reminded me Who holds the keys of hell and death. He reminded me that He had given those keys to me and if someone did die I could just call them back to life. Needless to say the fear was unfulfilled, except to teach me something. It was at that point I knew that someday when it was really necessary, I would get the opportunity to resurrect a life.

It's been ten years since and I'm still waiting. And although I knew that someday it would happen I still didn't fully believe. But, in the past years of radical growth and change my faith has also been growing. One of the by-products of walking through fire is that you are transformed and your faith is strengthened. No longer do I doubt. I'm so sure that I've started proclaiming it. It was while I'd been thinking about raising the dead that I heard God speak, one word for this next year.

Stretch.

When I think about it, it is a natural progression from last year's word, ask. That word challenged me to ask God for what I need. But I've grown past that now. This word moves me into asking for the impossible and believing it will happen. I'm ready. I have healed and grown enough that I am no longer in fear or worried about what I need. I have learned Who my God is and I have learned who I am. This past year has firmly established my identity in Him. I've found when we know who God is and who we are in Him the impossible becomes possible. Why should I continue to stumble over the little requests of my daily life, please help me through this day, please bless my work, please, please, please, when I can come BOLDLY before the throne of grace?

In Him I live in grace. In Him I am an eternal, Heavenly being. I can dwell in high places with Him every day. With the Spirit of the Almighty, living God living in me I have all the ability and power and love that He has. Anything He can do, I can do because it is Him doing it through me. Therefore there is truly nothing that is impossible. There are no limits except those I set for myself by doubting. If God says we will do greater things than Jesus did, then I want to take Him at His word and do them.

So it's time. Now that my faith muscles have been built up and strengthened it is time to stretch them to prepare for the race. It is time to start believing the impossible is possible. It is time to start asking for and expecting miracles. And I'm excited. Although I know that stretching can be very uncomfortable and very painful, that which is birthed out of the process is beautiful. This world needs the light. It needs to see the living God, active in this world through us. We need to become walking miracles who carry the catalyst of the presence of God within us. So, I'm stretching my faith. I'm asking for things that will blow my mind right out of the rigid religion box. I'm asking to resurrect the dead.