Pursuing Miracles Blindly

Marco…. Marco…..MARCO!!!….. Yet to no avail there is no response to steer you in the right direction. So you fling your arms around desperately hoping to make contact but once again your feeble attempts amount to nothing. Exhausted from frustration you mumble underneath your breath, “Where to now, where do I go from here.” Your microwave world is stuck on pause and there is no fast way of obtaining your desire, your miracle. You must proceed the hard way down the road of most resistance. Whatever happened to customers must come first; it’s our responsibility to make the customer satisfied. Well, that was thrown out the window along with your dignity. And now you are forced to wait in this never ending line of complainers.
Why can’t people follow after the example Burger King set out for us, “Have it your way.” Well this is obviously not your way and no one seems to mind. Your need can’t be met by a cheap fix, no this has to become a drawn out process. One where you were neither fully equipped for nor prepared, but nevertheless you’ve realized no one is coming to your rescue, it is sully up to you. You are forced to become the Kobe Bryant on the team with limited weapons.
How can you accomplish anything without the ability to see and be able to remain confident about it, it makes it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But this is exactly how God works; He makes us search out our miracles. He very well may set it up but we must be able to knock it down. He puts us in a place where we must take initiative and at some point take action. For instance take this man who was born blind in John 9. Years have obviously past by and yet he remains with this disability, living life in complete darkness never being able to see life as you and I take it for granted. Always depending on everybody else but himself, Jesus’ disciples were puzzled, “who sinned” they asked. Jesus simply responded, “No one this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” Then Jesus spits on the ground and makes mud with His saliva and puts it on the man’s eyes. Then He tells him, “GO, and wash it in the Pool of Sent.” So the man WENT and washed, and came home seeing.
Responding to Jesus’ directions, while walking with Jesus’ man made mud in your eyes. Being sent to the Pool of Sent he walked in the darkness in the surroundings of the unsure the unsafe. But that is how God works, He will direct us to walk through the uncertainty to precede in the unsure the darkness so that we can receive our miracle, our blessing. If God took suffering away whenever we desired, we would follow him for comfort and convenience, not out of pure love and devotion. Not out of a passion; just to be with him, but sully to receive His blessings. Our God is a God that desperately wants us to seek His face not only His hands.
We cannot simply defer our opposition to adjust our expectations, in this microwave world we must learn to endure the process of God. We must learn to become patient while walking blind to pursue our miracles. We must understand that this pursuit after God is a faith walk and we cannot resolve our trying times by going on the internet and goggling for directions or answers. His words are slowly marinated into the deepest parts of our souls, where we will hear the resounding gong of peace. Remember next time you put something in the microwave, not everything in life is going to be that easy. This thing called life is a process one that no one can be fully equipped for, we must learn how to adapt and become victorious through Christ.

The Wilderness... More Than Surviving

Whether we are led by the Spirit into the desert or seized by the desert from all directions, we are irrefutably there. You can not run from it, you can not hide from it, you are simply just there. Subject to its elements, its terrain, held captive to its lack of judgment, lack of reasoning. Forced to play by its rules, its way of thinking and it ultimately becomes the judge. And there is a price to pay when you choose not to play along. Because of the Wilderness’ dictatorship mentality, your emotions start to betray you; your mind becomes trapped inside a cold and moist prison. Searching desperately to become free, plotting its rare chance of escape, but how, the Wilderness is that gigantic bully you dare not mess with.

Your Wilderness longs to embarrass you, it desires to humble you. Perched up on a ledge waiting for you to fall and it’s not satisfied until you’ve lost it all. Your chances of survival are slim, why hope it only leads to dead ends. Isn’t there suppose to be a ray of hope, a light at the end of the tunnel, how life could turn from being so good to now this. Your Rocky Balboa deep down inside of you has no desire to fight. You’re on the eight-count and the Wilderness is not letting up. Thoughts enter your mind, “Well you’ve tried your best, there’s nothing you can do, and to give up it is your only option.” Defeat has moved in and it has become that pesky guest that decided to stay longer.

But then from what seems out of no where in the deepest corner of your heart you recall scripture. “I have come to give life and life more abundantly.” – “Never will I leave you nor forsake you.” – “Greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world.” – “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” – “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it out to completion.”

Then all of a sudden BAM! - There is your beam of light, its dim at first but it proceeds to grow. And as it grows so do you, your gigantic bully doesn’t seem to be so gigantic anymore. Why? Because you are choosing to look past the bully and see the blinding light just beyond him. You have stopped focusing on the Wilderness and now are imagining the benefits that will come as a result of the ability to survive it. And that is what simply allows you to endure, to pass by. Your success is waiting for you on the other side.

"I Love My Coach"

SAMPLE TEXT

Webster's dictionary describes the word "coach" as to teach and supervise (someone); act as a trainer or coach. and the word "mentor" means a wise and trusted guide and advisor... so if I could illustrate what that looks like in my life, I would throw up a photo of my beloved PR (Pastor Richard).