Sometimes…I trust God for so little. I put Him in this little box and imagine that I know what He is capable of or interested in doing.
I was reminded of this as I read in John this morning. The meeting between Jesus and Nathanael has always made me smile.
Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and said about him, “Here is a true Israelite; no deceit is in him.”
“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered.
” Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe only because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” – John 1:47-50 (HCSB)
Seriously? You believe just because I told you I saw you sitting under a tree? You haven’t seen anything, yet! Then, Jesus tells Nathanael that soon he would see angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. If Nathanael was already impressed…he was about to be blown away!
Often, I imagine God is saying the same thing to me. Seriously, Stacy? That excites you? You will see greater things than this.
When I was in the hospital I continually prayed for God to just heal me. I knew that He could. I was very sick. Yet, I knew that, in an instant, He could just make it all go away. And He did. The stomach tube came out. The infection went away. The mystery fever disappeared. I was healed…and I wasn’t shocked. Grateful, yes. Thrilled beyond belief. But, not shocked. I knew that God could heal and I believed that, in this case, He would.
However, a few short weeks later, when the doctor bills started rolling in…I began to worry. How would we pay this? When could we pay that? I sat at work with the bills all spread out on my desk…about $600 owed to various doctors who helped at some point during my hospital stay. I pulled my bank account up online to check the balance and see which bills could be paid now and which would have to wait.
I could not believe my eyes. An unexpected check from my husband’s previous employer…one last paycheck that we were not expecting…for $617.00. God…You.are.so.cool.
I can not help but think that God was smiling. Oh, Stacy. You will see greater things than this.
I am 12 weeks away from having my third little girl. I’m so excited. Yet, I have been worried. Between my husband and I…we have accumulated quite a number of medical bills over recent months. While we are able to pay our bills and we are not struggling at all…there isn’t necessarily the extra money that may have been there in the past. We have had to be a bit more responsible with our monthly budget. So, with just a few months remaining before baby time, I had budgeted for a car seat / stroller in November and some clothing/diaper money in December.
Then, yesterday, a dear friend informs me that she has a car seat / stroller combo that someone donated to the pregnancy center where she works and she is going to bring it to me. The cost to me? Nothing. God…You.are.so.cool.
You believe because I provided a baby stroller? You will see greater things than this.
I find myself these days in a position where I need to greatly rely on the Lord. Not only do I need Him to provide material things…I need Him to provide for my emotional needs…I need Him to give me strength to go day to day…I need Him to give me the contentment for the place I find myself in and to trust Him for the place I long to be.
And, what He has so gently said to me this morning is…Being dependent on Me is the best place you can be.
See, I am a controlling person…just ask my husband…okay, don’t really. I freely admit it. I like things done a certain way and that way is…well…my way. But, God is teaching me to let go of some things and just trust Him. And, when I am fully dependent on Him, you better believe I am fully focused on Him to see how He is going to come through next. Then, when He comes through, I am just blown away and He gets the glory.
And, I know, God just smiles and says…
You will see greater things than this…
Wow. What a good word! It seems that when things are beyond our control and we can’t do anything but depend on God, we learn the most about relying fully on Him. I continually learn so much from you. Thanks for sharing and being so honest.
great post. :o)
Love ya! 🙂
Awesome. I truly savored this post…what a nice surprise to stop over for the first time and think, “I LIKE THIS GIRL!”
I look forward to getting to know you more 🙂
Stacy: Many thanks – for cluing me in on the Jesus and Nathanael story, and for reminding me that God is good, all the time. (I just need to be on the lookout for those greater things.)