ordinary people...extraordinary things...

I believe that there is a powerful redemption and restoration that comes from doing extremely difficult physical challenges. I have never been much of a physical challenge guy at any time in my life...especially at what many consider to be mid-life. I certainly wasn't the guy seeking to push the envelope of what was physically impossible and then seek the next bigger and better challenge. No sir...not me. I was not a jock in high school and played very little sports and never really developed a taste for either participating or watching. I realize making that true confession really calls my manliness into question...it's ok...I don't hunt or fish either. So,...for me... doing something physically extreme is about as likely as Lohan is to stay out of jail. I think just the mere thoughts of the most moderately physical things are tiring sometimes. The problem is that I have trouble with my vision...that is seeing what winning looks and feels like. We can so easily fall into routines...ruts...and live our ordinary lives of comfort and predictability never daring to go beyond our self imposed limitations. The shocking reality we often discover is the only limits we are constrained by are the ones we place on ourselves. Those can be so disabling to the point we give up even trying anything new or challenging. We are defeated before we even start. There are several problems with this but primarily it chokes the life out of our faith in God to do amazing and unexpected things in our lives. There is a certain satisfaction that comes when we can say...I did what I thought was impossible. It's a rush...it's exciting. There is an ever greater feeling that comes when we say...and understand...it only happened because of God working through me and empowering me in a often times crazy way. As I have said many times before, God likes to take the most impossible situation and use the most ordinary and unlikely person to demonstrate His power to others. I have heard people say...”that's IMPOSSIBLE”...or...”that's CRAZY”. I have discovered many things that I just didn't believe possible...even in my wildest imagination...became quite possible and was shocking to myself and others. I have discovered that the twin elements of these amazing stories of success and redemption are... courage and faith. I have analyzed these two concepts for endless hours. To step out in courage...even believing you might fail...requires a significant amount of faith. It sometimes seems like faith in everyday things is so ordinary and unspoken. However, when it come to bear in a personal way and that faith is challenged and we feel the weakness of it it is all so differently then. Jesus worked on this issue a lot with both His disciples and those He met during His ministry. It is like how the disciples reacted when Jesus walked on the water...they were astonished at the sheer impossibility...in their minds...of what had been done. Their true faith came in that moment and with that miracle. Many times we look at a situation or opportunity and immediately see the difficulty...the impossibility...the obstacles that stand in the way. We don't allow our faith to even enter into the situation. We find reason to not even try to summon up courage as our fear of failure...or looking stupid...or wondering what people will think robs us of perhaps a chance to redeem a part of our life we need to take back. The devil is constantly stealing away our lives one bite at a time and each time we give in to doubt and fear there goes another piece. Is that what you want? To just be slowly chipped away at until there is nothing left? Probably not...Reclaiming an authentic life of significance and purpose is hard because we have to be thoughtful and intentional each step of the way. It requires discipline and vision...two things that are sorely lacking for most of us. It's hard to trust...to believe...to let go...when you have been hurt and disappointed by failures of others and your own. There is a richness and a texture of life that comes when we stare down our fears and anxieties and step off that edge...knowing we will be caught by a loving Savior. That's calming and reassuring and yet so hard for us to grasp how liberating that can be. We are bound and wrapped up in a tangle of fear and insecurities that literally at times can paralyze us into doing nothing...sitting waiting on God...or watching others. This is not what God desires for us. He wants us in the game...whether we are the ace pitcher or not...it doesn't matter. We are called by the very love that has redeemed us to this amazing life with Him. We are called to do the impossible extraordinary thing because in doing so it only does two things...it glorifies Him and allows us to be a powerful witness to others. I have been transformed by this redemption that comes from doing amazing...previously thought impossible...things. Now I'm different. I think this sums it up pretty well. In the book, Risking Faith, Dr. Steve Stephens writes, “I don’t want an ordinary God any more than I want an ordinary faith. Ordinary might make me feel good, but it will never inspire and astound me. Only an extraordinary God can move me beyond complacency in such a way that I cannot help but be changed”