Certain
“This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!”
- John the Apostle
A friend of mine told me an incredible story. He had this dream about a trip he would take with his daughter. It would be a uniting and initiating trip that would define their relationship for many years. It would be an epic adventure. In his mind this trip was very specific and so was his wish list. He was clear on:
Where they would go
What they would do
How long they would be there
What type of person would guide them
And what the trip cost had to be
The more he investigated and planned, the more impossible the trip seemed. Meeting one or two of his conditions were possible, but all of them being met within his budget was not going to happen. But on he prayed and on he dreamed with the importance and expectation continuing to grow.
And then the clouds parted, the calendar opened, the person became available, the cost fell into alignment, and everything he hoped and dreamed became a possibility. But it ended up being different. It was so much more.
“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
”
— Paul to the church in Ephesus
He was telling us the story over some margaritas, ceviche, and some nachos last week. He asked a very simple question, “What are the odds that all these coincidences could culminate in this perfect trip?” The answer rose in me immediately. And it was so emphatic and came from somewhere so much deeper that I knew it wasn’t my answer, but God’s.
“One-hundred percent!”
We were invited to go to South Africa about a year ago. We led business workshops for five dozen or so leaders in three cities. The reception and our experience were more than we could have hoped. We met many amazing people but four particular like-hearted kings emerged that desired to advance the teaching we had offered them.
These are amazing men with big hearts, incredible gifting, and tremendous intentionality. Truly, one-in-a-million. Rather than driving the expansion of our work there ourselves, they took up the mantle more beautifully and powerfully than we could have believed. In fact, they did “far more than (we) could ever imagine or guess or request in (our) wildest dreams!”
We met for many hours with them via zoom. We handed over our content and trained them in our methodologies. Last week they met with dozens of leaders at three venues and have plans to offer a monthly meeting similar to what we provide here in our country.
Next, we are supposed to head to Russia to offer similar workshops and replicate a similar expansion. One of the men on our team identified that the crucial ingredient in this mission has been identified and it isn’t our content, methodologies, or training. It is aligning with God’s plan and finding another one-in-a-million four kings in that country as glorious as the ones we found in South Africa.
He asked a very simple question, “What are the odds that we will find another Trevor, Kyle, Darren, and Ryan there!?!”
The answer this time is sourced from beyond me like the first, but is now my conviction as well, “One hundred percent!”
Consider
What big “asks” is God stirring in you?
How comfortable are you asking and expecting the miraculous?
Are there miracles and coincidences you’ve experienced that are actually 100% confirmation of what he said he would do if we asked in his will and in his name?