GREATER THINGS! Who
doesn’t want greater things? No, I am
not talking about worldly, material things.
I am talking about the things of the heart that we desire deep down
within. Things of God – things that will
bring lasting satisfaction. Things we’ve
not seen or experienced before ~ that will make us jump for joy! In these days of fear and lies and
destruction all around us … and yes, death – lots of it … our hearts long for
peace and safety and truth … and life.
Abundant life. We might ask
ourselves or anyone else who will listen:
is that even possible in 2018 when the world around us seems to be
something out of an unbelievable, terrifying movie? Well, God says it is possible.
But first, He reminds us that we are human and He is God. That while we cannot fully know or see or
understand what is going on in all this craziness – He does. And He’s got this. Our part is to pursue HIM. To run after HIM. To seek HIM with all of our being! The Apostle Paul tells us this in God’s Word:
“For now we are looking in a mirror that
gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma],
but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I
shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have
been fully and clearly known and understood [by God].” (I Corinthians 13:12) What assurance that we can trust God in
the interim – until someday when it will all become clear to us!
Sometimes we see something so out-of-the-ordinary, the only way
we can explain it is that the experience has GOD written all over it. At work the other day in a memory-care
facility filled with residents living with dementia and Alzheimer’s, I
witnessed an amazing miracle! I can
still feel the goose-bumps I experienced when my eyes saw what I’d never seen
before! This elderly gentleman who
typically shuffles up and down the hallways in a slow, not-so-sure-footed
manner, stopping often to bend way over and rub his knees, did something that
still makes me shake my head – but jump
for joy!! In my six and a half years in my
office position, I am often out in the front
living area and the hallways – and I am able to interact with the residents to
the point that I am fully aware of their individual capabilities, or lack
thereof. So on this day, it was time for
live music with an entertainer who is gifted with a singing voice that can
emulate most any well-known singer.
Staff was gathering the residents and bringing them to the music
room. I walked in for the purpose of
joining someone else to listen to “just one song” and then get back to the
tasks awaiting me in my office. As I
stopped to listen, some movement caught my eye through the window looking out to
the hallway. I sucked in my breath at
first glance, thinking this gentleman was losing his balance and was going to
fall. And in the next glance as he
continued his unusual motion, I realized he was dancing down the hallway! I quickly moved out of the room to where he
was to make sure he would not lose his balance and fall. His body swayed and moved in perfect sync to
the timing of the music. He moved his
legs and arms and twirled around in fluid movement as if he had been a
professional dancer. I felt shivers go
up and down my spine. I wanted to run to
him, but I barely dared breathe lest I break the beauty of what was taking
place! I looked at his face, and in
those impeccably perfect steps and spinning circles, I saw something in his
face I had never seen before. He was
visibly experiencing joy on a level that he has not been able to for
years. Fully engaged with the music, his
brain and his body connected with full clarity and he danced by himself around
the edges of the music room. Everyone’s
eyes were fixated on him, captured in the wonder of it all. We were one with him, sharing his freedom,
his enjoyment, his celebration! Whoever
neared the room, I waved them in to also witness what all of us were so
astounded by. It was nothing less than a
miracle! When I finally made my way back
down the long hallway to my office, the physical wonder and sense of witnessing
what God had just gifted this man with, stayed with me for the rest of my day. I still feel it as I write. One cannot see GOD in action and not be moved
deeply and impacted greatly! As I was
witnessing the miraculous movements of this gentleman usually bound by the
limitations of his medical condition, I could not help but remember “the
greater things” that God’s Word tells us we will get to experience in these
days we are living in! I am still
jumping for joy!!
So, in telling you this amazing story, if we want more than what
this life on earth can offer us, what do we do?
Where do we start? What makes it
possible? Well, we first need to
recognize that the answer lies purely and simply in choosing to pursue
God! He is our only source for “more” of
what really matters. He is the only one
who can gift us with “the greater things!”
We will never experience the very best things outside of God
Himself. Oh, they might seem like the
very best in the moment – but believe me, they will not last. They will fade away. They will be forgotten. They will consume us through our failure to
hang on to the fleeting. God’s greater
things are experienced “freshly brewed” for each new day! They are found in HIM: in His presence! Living in this pursuit of God takes us right
to His heart. Living this way is not
about us – or what He can do for us.
Living this way brings us to a place of asking God what we can do for
HIM! We will want to know what is on HIS
heart. We will live in the place of
pleasing the Lord God. Not because we
have to – but because we long to, from the deepest places of our soul. Everything else will dim in our view, and our
vision will finally be cleared to see more of what God sees. Our heart’s desires will get in alignment
with His desires, and our heartbeat will become one with His as we move into
action where He is at work. Suddenly, the disappointments and devastations of
this present earth lose their hold when laid down at the feet of Jesus. They
are sifted through the Promises of God, and the sting is shaken out. What remains is uncontainable peace and joy …
and lasting satisfaction. The greater
things of God push us past our human capabilities … to participating in the
supernatural ~ the very gifts of God that He delights in favoring His children
with!!
Just what did He tell us we would be able to do? Listen:
“I assure you, most solemnly I
tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do
the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I
go to the Father.” (John 14:12) And
Jesus goes on to say in the next verse: “And I will do [I Myself will grant]
whatever you ask in My Name {as presenting that I AM], so that the Father may
be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son.” So, dear ones, our heartbreaking
reactions of hopelessness need be no more.
We can run to Jesus, pursue Him, follow hard after Him, and experience
all the greater things that God has just been waiting for us to participate
in! Whether we get to witness it – or it
is something He wants us to do! Wait no
more ~ start doing! Do you desire
greater things? Life on a whole new
level with GOD awaits!
REMEMBER . . .
(Our
Scripture theme verse at the birthing of Elevation North):
“Now to Him
who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to
His power that is at work within us,
to Him be
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout
all generations, forever and every!
Amen!”
~ Ephesians
3:20-21
Joyfully Serving Christ . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
