February 2022 - Overflow Ministries Intl

He Answers Before We Ask – Read Gen. 24:42-45

One of the most profound realities of the Christian faith is that God does not wait to hear our prayers before He begins to answer. I can prove this from His Word as well as from my life and yours.

A long time ago, an ordinary servant was sent to complete a specific task. We know that this servant was ordinary because we don’t even know his name. He is identified only as the “eldest servant.” This ordinary servant received specific instructions to find a wife for his master’s son. She couldn’t be from just anywhere; she was to be found in a particular place. Armed with the promise of an angel sent before him, this ordinary servant moved out on his mission to fulfill his commitment to his master, knowing that the only way he would be relieved of his responsibility was if the prospective bride refused to return with him.

The servant took everything that made for a respectable dowry—camels, rings, and bracelets—but he also came with something of much greater value. He took with him the faith of his master and the belief that if he was to be successful in his attempt, he needed to communicate with the only One who could ensure his progress. So, he prayed!

He prayed specifically, for who knows how long, but before he had finished speaking up walked the answer. Do you think that God had to talk to Rebekah and put her in the right place after He heard the servant’s prayer? I don’t. I believe that God had already spoken to Rebekah in preparation for the prayer that the servant would offer.

You and I are just ordinary servants who have been sent on an errand by our Master. We don’t work for the father of faith; we serve the Master in whom that father put his trust. Indeed, if Abraham’s servant knew enough to pray on the way to the assignment, you and I must know that prayer is the only way we will accomplish the Lord’s will. And when we pray, we must be confident that we are simply unlocking the answer God has already put in place for us.

I encourage you to go back to the place of prayer and make your request from a new paradigm. God has already answered—now, go ask!

Giants Can’t Stop You – Read Num. 14:6-8

When God has something for us, nothing can stop us from getting it, not even giants. But clearly, no one told that to the ten spies who brought Israel the discouraging report from the Promised Land. With instructions to search the land that God had given to the children of Israel, twelve men set out for Canaan. Once there, ten men became overwhelmed by the presence of the enemy that was in the land. Despite visibly abundant provision, these men could only see what they perceived as strong opposition.

You and I are sometimes like the ten spies who could only see the impossibilities. Instead, we desperately need to remember that if the Lord delights in us, He will bring us into the land, no matter where that land might be.

Think of the countless promises that God has made us that we have allowed friends to talk us out of, fear to cheat us out of, and tradition to wrench from our hands. Just because people can’t see it happening for them doesn’t mean it won’t happen for you. Just because others say you won’t doesn’t mean they’re telling the truth. And just because something has never been done before doesn’t mean that you can’t do it.

The only way we can be cheated out of what God has for us is if we become like grasshoppers in our own eyes. If there is a lid, you will have to put it on. If there is a stopping point, you will have to erect the wall. You are the only hindrance to your entrance into the promised land. Even the enemies that remain in your promise are there to assist you. If you don’t believe me, read Judges 3:1, 2. The reason God left enemies in the land promised to Israel was to teach them how to war.

What giant has caused you to return a report of defeat? If God has something for you, nothing can stop you from getting it, not even giants!

Love Should Not Hurt – Read 1 Cor. 13:4-7

There are times when love hurts, aren’t there? And one does not have to have ever been abused to know the pain of love. Just as abuse can take on many forms—mental, verbal, or physical—so can the pangs of love.

I remember high school and being in love with a guy who was at least six years my senior. Oh, the pain of being told he was too old for me, then forbidden from even entertaining the thought of having any relationship with him. Then there was the pain of falling for a guy who appeared to be the consummate romantic, any girl’s dream, only to discover him to be an ordinary, healthy young man who could not possibly continue in a relationship with a girl who wasn’t “putting out.” It is a dreadful day when the man of your dreams becomes the author of your nightmares. It is an even more painful day when you face that you are indeed too young for romantic love in its most total sense.

Then there are the dull aches of love. The formal end to a twenty-year marriage that had its informal ending in year five does not hurt as much as it causes one to breathe a sigh of relief that the end has finally come. The dullness comes because the relationship was fractured long before you ever left, which makes you wonder why it took so long to go. The only love you leave with is care for a “nice” human being. You see, “nice” people are easy to tolerate and even easier to ignore. They don’t bother or abuse you, and you don’t faze them. But that kind of love only works if you can live with dull pain and emptiness.

But then love can also be complete, truthful, solid, balanced, and stabilizing. It is the kind of love that is first rooted in God, then in self, and, once through those channels, comes out to others with tremendous power. It is the kind of love that can sustain you when you don’t particularly like a person for the moment. It is the kind of love that meets needs, works hard, and, above all else, does not abuse or even misuse.

I am among those blessed to have that kind of love in my life. It is that kind of love that strengthens one to be a blessing to those who do not know it—to the neglected, injured, and mistreated. We do not fully understand why victims remain with their abusers, but we don’t need to comprehend. We can and must share the source of complete, truthful, solid, balancing, and stabilizing love that we have received so that they will know that love does not have to hurt.

Easy But Still Valuable

There was nothing remarkably different or insightful that sparked the thought. It was during a regular time of quiet and devotion that I found myself jotting down the following words: “When something comes easy to us, there is a tendency to overlook its value to others and cause us to minimize its potential for impact, influence, and even income.” Before I could tuck the note away in my “I’ll use this someday” file, I recognized that what I had captured was more than a random thought that had meandered into my mind. Reluctantly, I had to admit that it was, in fact, a message—a reminder to myself of my own poor and often repeated practice of undervaluing those things in my life that I seem able to do with little effort.

I cringe to think how often I have had to consider that some of the knowledge and ability I possess is part of how I have been gifted and crafted. Those things that come easy to each of us display our uniqueness and become our super-power on the earth. The fact that you can do something with your eyes closed does not mean that everyone else knows how to perform the same function with the same sense of ease. What comes as “second nature” to you does not make it of non-importance to someone else. In reality, it is precisely those gifts and talents that we take for granted that impact and influence the world around us. They are part of our “fearfully and wonderfully made” selves.

Although I have not fully arrived, I am committed to the process of a paradigm shift. I want to do a better job of esteeming those things that I do naturally and then continue to seek how God may want to use them for His glory and my good. And now I share that same encouragement with you. Of course, if you are among those who regard every part of yourself, this will undoubtedly make little sense to you. But if you are in the same camp as I find myself, I trust that we will join forces to bring our easy yet valuable gifts to the forefront. After all, one of your income streams may be attached to the talent, gift, knowledge, or skill that you perform effortlessly. So, please think of this as a gentle reminder to appreciate that what may be easy for you is of great value to others.