Of Cows and Mountains

When I lived in Kentucky, my drive to Seminary was long, scenic, and sometimes surprising.  One cold day, I was in a bit of a hurry, so I was slightly pressing the speed limit when I came up over a hill and had to stop suddenly.  Smack in the middle of the road was a cow, just chilling out, and not in a hurry to move.  I was barely able to stop, but luckily didn't hit the huge beast.  I think it would have been equally as bad for the cow and for Lee and me!

Life is full of obstacles, isn't it?  In an old song called, Road to Zion, Petra (the singers) recount the journey to God's place.  They speak about foggy mist, shadows, rivers, and mountains.  Our journey to God and with God is filled with obstacles!

How do we face and overcome obstacles?  Jesus tells the disciples something that is both assuring and puzzling at the same time.  "So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says (Mark 11:22-23)."  This passage has been pondered, used, misused, and confused!   Let's unpack it a bit.

The first thing it says is ... "Have faith in God."  Let's listen to that a moment ... "In God" might be the operative thing here.  When you pray, are you "In God?"  Are you praying out of self, selfish needs, wants that are formed in your spirit, or things that are in and of God's Spirit?  To be submissive to God and truly be "In God,"  I believe we must enter prayer with a trusting and submissive heart.

Secondly, this passage seems to say that God does impossible things.  It does!  As we become closer to God and more in flow with God's will, plan, and purpose, I think we also begin to understand that we DO have an impossible God.  The Scriptures are filled with impossible things.  Blind people see.  Lame people walk.  Storms stop.  Thousands are fed with a few loaves and some fish. The gates of hell are challenged by one man.  The dead are brought to life.  I could go on and on.  But here's the catch.  Our culture has been taught that our logic and understanding must be satisfied before God can act.  We ask, but do we doubt?  We ask, but do we believe?  We pray, but do we pray "In God," or do we pray out of our own understanding?

What obstacles do you face?  What do you want God to do with them?  Do you ask "In God?"  Do you ask "In Doubt?"  Do you ask, "In belief?"  Do we live in a man-sized plan, or a God-sized plan?  Good questions, I think!