Mike Posner started walking on April 15, 2019. He left New Jersey on foot and just kept going. Six months later, he triumphantly dove into the Pacific Ocean. His dream was to become tougher by walking across America. And he did it—one step at a time.
There’s no telling how far one next step after another will take us. Probably much further than we expect. Our low expectations often set limits on how God works in our lives.
Charles Swindoll tells the story of two men ice fishing. The first man cut a hole in the ice the size of a dinner plate. The second man cut a hole the size of a Volkswagen van—and in the shape of a whale! The first man’s small expectations limited what he could catch.
“So much of what we undertake lacks vision,” says Swindoll. “We cut our tiny holes in the ice and make plans to go home cold and hungry.”
What size hole have we cut in the ice? Do our low expectations limit God’s ability to work in our lives?
When Gideon was hiding in fear, God called him to fight the mighty Midianites. Gideon didn’t think he was the right man, but he went on to lead Israel to victory over their enemy. (See Judges, chapters 6-8.)
The victory didn’t happen instantly. It came through steps. Fifty-two verses and many next steps later, Gideon led his men to war and then to victory.
God saw something in Gideon that Gideon didn’t see in himself. By following God step by step, he was transformed from a timid, cowering farmer into a daring warrior and leader.
What does God see in us that we don’t see in ourselves?
Listen to this life-changing promise in 2 Corinthians 9:8: “Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.”
God is more than ready—ready to shower us with infinitely more than our greatest request, our most unbelievable dream, or our wildest imagination! I can imagine big things, wild and crazy things. Can’t you? Yet, even the most impossible thing we can imagine becomes completely doable when we trust the overwhelming, abundant grace of our God.
We may not be interested in actual ice fishing because, well…brrrr! But God is interested in seeing us cut a whale-sized hole in the ice, to look past what we think we can do, and expand our vision to what God wants to do through us. When we obediently take our next steps, God overwhelms us with every part of his great grace. And that means all limits are gone and all things are possible.
Dear God, give me faith and grace to do things for you. Expand my vision. Show me my next step. Overwhelm me with your abundant grace so I may accomplish everything you want to do through me. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Family Worship Center Devotionals 