WHAT IF?

All I can say is WOW!  Was it ever C-O-L-D yesterday!  When we took our morning and afternoon walks, it was in the low-forties with 35 to 40 mph gusts of winds from the northwest, blowing down across the open spaces between Oklahoma and Canada.  The windchill factor easily took another ten degrees off the stated temperatures.  I had an Optometry appointment at eleven and as I pulled out of my driveway, snow flurries began to fall from the sky.  The flurries never amounted to much and the sun actually came back out in the early afternoon… but it sure didn’t seem to affect the temperature at all!

I hadn’t had my eyes checked for a couple of years and had noticed a change in my eyesight… so, I figured that it was a good time to get some new glasses.  I am glad that I went as everything in my eyes checked out fine and my sight had only degraded a small amount for both distance and close-up.  So, with that, I ordered a new pair of inside glasses and decided to keep the sunglasses as they were… at least for now!

I had received a Benefit Debit Card from my insurance company at the end of last year for $500.00, with the stipulation that it had to be used for medical related proposes and expired at the end of 2020.  So, with the thought that I wanted to get some new spectacles in mind, I called the Optometry office where my youngest daughter used to work, made an appointment for yesterday and had the $500.00 card amount credited to my account.  Needless to say, that helped my out-of-pocket expenses tremendously!

With that appointment completed, I was able to check off another item on my long to-do list, as I continue to settle in to my new life, in my new house, in my new city and state, in this new chapter and season of my life.  It seems like everyday presents new challenges to my state of mind while I forge on through all the changes that I am experiencing with the absence of my wife, my kids Mom, my best friend and long-term partner in just about every dream and imagination that I have ever had since I was seventeen.

I would have to say though, that without ANY HESITATION, my faith, my expectations, my trust and my commitment to God and His Word have continued to grow throughout every step that I’ve taken… whether I took them willingly or not!  As I was praying Paul’s Ephesians prayers* the other day, the thought suddenly popped into my mind, “What if we REALLY took God at His Word?”  As the strength of that statement penetrated my mind, it gave me reason to pause, to push back from my desk and stare out toward the vacant golf course outside my study window.

For lack of a better term… I would say that I have prided myself for years proclaiming that I fully believe the Word of God… without question, with a child-like faith.  But that statement, which seemed to emanate from deep inside of me, kinda shook me up!  For as I looked out the window and REALLY contemplated what my response would be if God personally asked me that question (which was how I tended to take the question anyway!), I could see many times where I immediately began to think of excuses why I couldn’t believe it for that particular set of circumstances!  Be honest here… Have you ever done that?

I like the way that The Message Bible puts the beginning of Ephesians 3:20 when Paul stated in very descriptive words, “God can do anything, you know…”  That introduction to the rest of the verse says it all… doesn’t it?  But, do we… you and I… REALLY believe that?

What if we did?  Think for yourself… How different would your life be if you unequivocally, unreservedly, and without any hesitation or doubt… no matter what the circumstances may be… did REALLY believe and ACT as though God’s Word was true and that He loves us so much that He will ALWAYS do for us what He says that He will DO in His Word?

I know that this question has really stimulated my honest, heartfelt and frank thoughts and communications with the Father concerning where I stand.  Am I a BELIEVER or a PARTIAL – BELIEVER?  Do I only believe Him when things seem possible to me… or at any time, in any place whether I have a fat bank account or not, whether medical science has a cure for it or not or when the mountain seems just too big or unsurmountable… or not?

What do you say?  Simply said, I think that it comes down to one simple question… Do you Believe Him or not?

Have a great weekend, and keep expecting God’s best!

 

*Ephesians 1:17-23 and Ephesians 3:16-21