Investment Expectations!

Yesterday my wife and I went to see our new financial counselor.  It was a most informative session for me as we looked at all the potential possibilities ahead for us, especially with our impending move to North Carolina in May.  In some respects, the appointment was like old home week for my wife and I as the office administrator was a lady that we had attended First Baptist Church with during the courtship and early years of our marriage.  In fact, she had done the flowers for our wedding!  It was exciting to talk about the past and catch up on the whereabouts of many of the people that we had been close to.

It was fun for me to observe my wife’s reactions during the couple of hours that we were there.  At first she was dozing on and off, but as we delved deeper into our financial future she raised her head, watched what was going on and even nodded at different comments and decisions.  Our financial advisor was openly enthralled at her interest in our meeting.  He figured that she would be “bored” and out of touch with the conversation due to her condition.  For me it was just a testimony to the work that God is doing in her, and also because we have always been in agreement with our finances and once again, the real Piper on the inside was pushing its way out of the fog that has tried to infiltrate her mind.  I believe that she was testifying to the supernatural healing power of God that is revitalizing her body!

As I read from John chapter seven this morning, I recalled the reactions of those in the office yesterday, and reflected upon how frustrating it must be to those (especially Christians who have tasted of the glory of God) who cannot accept the supernatural foundation of Christ’s message.  In John 7:15-36 I see three different reactions to the thruth that Jesus was sharing.  There were those who readily accepted His message and then those who were confused because they thought they knew His background and family tree and had a difficult time receiving the supernatural context of His teachings.  And lastly there was the group that simply rejected what He said because it didn’t fit into their experience, into their traditions or what could be termed as their “box!”

Jesus continually attempted to shift their attention off of Him and onto His Father, but many could not let go of their dependence on the natural realm.  This is something that we see on a regular basis as my wife and I interact with people wherever we go.  The exciting part of this is that the Lord has just about always given us an opportunity to share where we stand when it comes to the final outcome of my wife’s life.  I think that I have finally learned to be patient and wait for the Lord’s openings before I try to share our faith with others.  Yesterday it was like the Lord was masterfully laying the foundation through our talk of the past with the admin and our financial leader, about our current and future financial history and plans and then how God has had a hand in all of it, which led the way to discuss what we believe is His will for my wife’s future.

I think that this is one of God’s greatest purposes for all Christians on this earth who believe in the supernatural, miraculous place of our heavenly Father in their lives.  To bring a hope that extents way beyond the confines of the natural limits of our understandings.  When you take a look at scriptures such as those found in Ephesians 3:19, Philippians 4:7, Ephesians 3:20, Matthew 19:26, Mark 9:23, Mark 11:22-24, and Jesus’ final prayer to His Father as He was about to go to the cross in Mark 14:36, you can’t help but to stand up and shout (at least I can’t!) over the freedom and potential that He sets forth in our lives because of the unlimited possibilities of His love and supernatural power working in, for and through us!

In Mark 14:36 Jesus intimately spoke to His Father saying “Abba! (or Daddy) Father!  You can do anything.  Take this cup of suffering away from me.  But let your will be done rather than mine.”  He knew that His Dad had the ability to do anything in this world and beyond for Him, yet He also knew that what was most important in this situation was not what He wanted, but what His Father knew to be the best for Him and therefore also for you and me! 

What excites me beyond measure is that we also can know what God’s will for us is… because it is found in His Word within the pages of our Bibles!  That’s why I can be so sure about the outcome of this attack on my wife’s health and therefore joyfully and confidently share this expectation (or Bible hope…) with others who react in despair and hopelessness when they see her.  There is hardly anything more rewarding to me than to leave an encounter with people like those wonderful folks yesterday and look back at the smile of hope that replaced the fear of hopelessness on their faces as we left.

Have you ever had the privilege of experiencing that?  If God can use me and a women who according to medical science is in the later stages of Alzheimer’s to testify of His supernatural abilities… then he can also use you!  WOW!  I tell you… there is nothing like spreading the joy that comes from an earnest expectation of God’s best in the lives of others.  Have a great weekend.  Make a point to invest some of your time in spreading Godly expectations to those you encounter and then rejoice!  Stay in tune to His Word and keep asking yourself… “What or Whom am I expecting today?”