{"id":9394,"date":"2020-09-04T00:27:08","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T00:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/?p=9394"},"modified":"2020-09-04T00:30:19","modified_gmt":"2020-09-04T00:30:19","slug":"giving-god-something-to-work-with","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/?p=9394","title":{"rendered":"Giving God Something to Work With\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a recent blog by Steve Backlund (Igniting Hope Ministries) he focuses on an important aspect of God\u2019s methods for achieving His purposes that resonates with me, that is, <b>that\u00a0God is always partnering with people to accomplish His will<\/b>. I\u2019ve included excerpts of the blog for you to consider in todays pastoral letter.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: circle;\">\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Steve goes on to say \u2026\u2026<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>While in some instances God specifically directs a person\u2019s course of action, many times a believer\u2019s own ideas and initiative actually spark a move of God. Consider these two stories:<br \/>\n<b><\/b>Jonathan and his armor-bearer in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bibleserver.com\/ESV\/1%20Samuel14%3A6\" class=\"bibleserver extern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1 Samuel 14:6<\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">\u201cThen Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, \u2018Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; <\/span><b style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">it may be that the Lord will work for us<\/b><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few\u2019\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Jonathan said, \u201cIt may be that the Lord will work for us.\u201d He had no direct word from God at the beginning, but his actions led to a powerful conquest. <!--more--><\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: circle;\">\n<li><b><\/b>The four lepers in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bibleserver.com\/ESV\/2%20Kings7%3A3\" class=\"bibleserver extern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2 Kings 7:3<\/a> \u2013 \u201cNow there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, \u2018<b>Why are we sitting here until we die?<\/b>\u2019\u201d. This conversation led to <b>their plan<\/b> to visit the Syrian camp which catalysed a massive victory for God\u2019s people.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Stories like these demonstrate the power of hope\u2014an overall optimistic attitude for the future based on the goodness and promises of God. People of hope give God a LOT to work with because they believe the future will be better than the present and they have the power to help make it so. This \u201cpower to help\u201d enables us to join with God and take risks to try new things. People who do not have hope will tend toward passivity and fatalism, believing they are victims of God\u2019s inactivity.<\/p>\n<p>God partners with what we give Him to work with through things like:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Our prayers<\/b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou have not because you ask not\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bibleserver.com\/ESV\/James4%3A3\" class=\"bibleserver extern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James 4:3<\/a>)<br \/>\n<b>Our declarations <\/b>\u201cBut only speak a word, and my servant will be healed\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bibleserver.com\/ESV\/Matthew8%3A8\" class=\"bibleserver extern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mt 8:8<\/a>)<br \/>\n<b>Our skills<\/b> \u2013 \u201c(David\u2019s) sling was in his hand\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bibleserver.com\/ESV\/1%20Samuel17%3A4\" class=\"bibleserver extern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1 Samuel 17:4<\/a>)<br \/>\n<b>Our encouragement<\/b> \u2013 \u201cSay to those <i>who are<\/i> fearful-hearted, \u2018Be strong, do not fear!\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bibleserver.com\/ESV\/Isaiah35%3A4\" class=\"bibleserver extern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaiah 35:4<\/a>)<br \/>\n<b>Our faith <\/b>\u2013 \u201cWhen Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, \u2018Son, your sins are forgiven you\u2019\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bibleserver.com\/ESV\/Mark2%3A5\" class=\"bibleserver extern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mark 2:5<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p><b>We not only need faith in God,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><b>but also in what He has given <\/b><b>us<\/b><b>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"><br \/>\n<\/span><\/b>When we activate our faith by taking steps into the unknown, we keep our angels busy with kingdom-advancing work..<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">People whose hope is being ignited believe: there is always a solution (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bibleserver.com\/ESV\/1%20Corinthians10%3A13\" class=\"bibleserver extern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1 Cor 10:13<\/a>), they will thrive no matter what happens (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bibleserver.com\/ESV\/Philippians4%3A11-13\" class=\"bibleserver extern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Philippians 4:11-13<\/a>), they will see the goodness of God in the land of the living (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bibleserver.com\/ESV\/Psalm27%3A13\" class=\"bibleserver extern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Psalm 27:13<\/a>), and even the little things they do make a huge difference (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bibleserver.com\/ESV\/Zechariah4%3A10\" class=\"bibleserver extern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zechariah 4:10<\/a>). These beliefs will dramatically increase the likelihood of giving God great things to work with.<\/p>\n<p><b>What can you do to give God more to work with?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">God\u2019s faithfulness will be powerfully displayed in our lives.\u00a0 As He partners with our faith-filled steps forward, we will see breakthrough, salvation, provision, healing, and victory for many as the fruit of our efforts.\u00a0<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>We can and will make a difference!<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a recent blog by Steve Backlund (Igniting Hope Ministries) he focuses on an important aspect of God\u2019s methods for achieving His purposes that resonates with me, that is, that\u00a0God [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,76,51,45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-destiny","category-hope","category-identity","category-mindset"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9394"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9397,"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9394\/revisions\/9397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cassowary.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}