Dare to Believe

I recently received an advanced copy of a book titled Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick.  It seems like every pastor of a mega church these days is writing a book and I have become a little put off by that fact, as it seems to have become somewhat cliche.  Truth is…I’m probably just a little jealous (but I’m working that out).  However, I really enjoy listening to Steven teach via podcast and I love reading his blog, so I dove right into his book.

‘Sun Stand Still’ is a challenge for us to have a big audacious faith, to pray and believe God for the impossible.  The challenge is formed from the story of Joshua (Joshua 10), who boldly asks God to make the sun stand still in the sky, so that the army of Israelites will have time to finish defeating the mass of enemy ranks that it faced.  In Joshua 10:13, we see God respond as “the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar.  The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.”

Joshua had the audacity to ask…and God made the impossible happen.

As I read this, I became convicted over the calculated and trite nature of my own prayers.  My eyes were suddenly opened to the fact that my petitions before God were only for things that had a good shot of panning out for me.  I know…that’s a somewhat scary confession for a pastor to make.  That somehow I had limited my faith to things that were only in the realm of human possibility.  Things that I could make happen on my own with a little determination and hard work.  Perhaps in my mind, I was worried that my faith would be weakened if God didn’t come through (which by the way was a demonstration of, at the very least, a weak faith to begin with).  This absolutely floored me.  Do I really lack faith?  Do I really believe that God can do the impossible?  Do you?

This past week, I have spent a considerable amount of time on my face before God.  Not only have I repented of my lack of faith, but my prayers have been focused on the very nature and character of God.  Our God IS bigger, stronger, and more able than any of us can ever imagine.  The same God that made the sun stand still in the sky is in our corner and we CAN believe Him for the impossible.  As I have prayed this week, my prayers have been focused and inspired, extremely bold and energized by the fact that I serve an all-powerful God, who is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).

What is it that you are asking God to do in your life and in your midst?  Are you believing Him for it?  It’s time for the people of God to once again have bold confidence in the ability of God.  To have an unrelenting, audacious faith in Him.  To walk in His promises and dare to believe that He will come through.