IF I’M NOT DEAD, HE’S NOT DONE
The phrase “it is what it is” has become popular, but it’s a little depressing, especially if you’re using it to describe your life.
Do you ever feel like your life is what it is? You may assume there’s not much chance your future will be different or better than your past. You might feel stuck.
If so, I have good news: If you’re not dead, God’s not done.
ABRAHAM WAS ... UNFINISHED
Abraham was a herdsman from a long line of herdsmen. He made a good living for his family, but he was likely to fade into history as another unknown shepherd. The only difference between him and his ancestors was that he and his wife were unable to have children. There would be no one to carry on the family name.
If you asked Abraham about his life – at age 75 – he would have told you, “It is what it is.”
But Abraham would have been wrong.
Why? Because God had more in front of Abraham than what was behind. God called Abraham to follow him on a great adventure, to go without telling him where he was going. Then the question became: Would Abraham trust God?
God promised Abraham that if he believed and said yes, God would bless him so he could become a blessing. And that God would give him a child and make him the father of a great nation. Again, could Abraham trust God, even when the promise seemed so unbelievable?
The answer is ... yes. “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3). Abraham put his trust in God, and it led him to action. “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).
Abraham goes, and it makes all the difference. His obedience unlocks an entirely new chapter in his story. When Abraham is 100 years old (!!), he and his wife have the son God promised. That son Isaac would later become the father of Jacob, who God renames Israel because he becomes the father of that nation. Ultimately, it’s through Abraham’s descendants that God brings Jesus into the world.
Abraham thought his story was finished, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. It turns out God was just getting started in Abraham’s life and on the road towards redeeming the world through Jesus.
YOU ARE ... UNFINISHED.
You may feel like your story is finished. It’s not. “There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears” (Philippians 1:6, The Message).
If you’re not dead, God’s not done.
If you have a pulse, God still has a purpose for your life.
God is just getting started with what he has in store for you.
It may be hard to believe. If so, I think Abraham would sympathize with you – it had to be challenging to believe he and his wife would welcome their first child into the world as they turned one hundred!
As difficult as it may be, you’ve got to believe it. The key that opened the door to the rest of Abraham’s life was trust. The same is true for you.
Trust is the difference between where you are now and where you could be with Jesus.
That’s because trust is the difference between inviting God into the journey of your life or letting God DRIVE. It’s one thing to feel good because you have God in the car with you; it’s entirely different to give God the keys and ask him to sit in the driver’s seat. But it’s that kind of trust that allows God to take you on the great adventure he has for your life.
God wants to teach you to trust.
If you read his story, you’ll see Abraham’s faith was tested repeatedly and that his faith went to another level each time he acted out of trust. His trust led to radical obedience…and that obedience was blessed by God. Faith, trust, and obedience are always blessed by God!
What about you? Will you say yes, no matter what God asks? If so, there’s no end to what God can do with your life.
THE BLANK CHECK.
Years ago, when my wife Christina was working on her master’s degree, she had a part-time job as a nanny to two precious little girls. Their mom would often send Christina and her two girls to the mall or to a fun place in the city and say, “Spend whatever you want to spend. I’m giving you a blank check. Whatever you want to do, I’ll take care of it.”
We were young and had no money at the time, so this was a foreign concept. Christina wondered, “What does ‘whatever you need’ mean? Does it mean I can buy the kids something to eat, or does she mean I can load up the car with new toys?” The mom assured Christina, “I trust you. You decide.”
Have you ever given God a blank check with your life? Not a “God, I trust you, but I still want to...” or a “God, I trust you, but not with...” or a “God, I trust you, but please don’t ask me to...”
Have you ever told God, “I trust you. You decide”?
That’s what Abraham did. God asked him for a blank check. “Abraham, I want you to put the date on it and sign it, but I’m going to put in all the details of my ask later.” Abraham trusted God so much that he agreed.
God is still looking for someone who will write him a blank check with their life. He is looking for someone who will say, “God, I trust you enough that I will let you decide what’s best for my life. I will trust you with every single moment.”
Something powerful happens when you respond to God with a “Yes” before he even asks. God is looking for someone who will offer him a sincere Whatever. Whenever. Wherever.
If your faith can lay everything before him and give up control, God will take you to places you never dreamed possible.
Yes, there will be a lot you don’t know about the future, but you know Jesus. And the Jesus you know can be trusted with what you don’t know.
You will never experience the full scope of what God has in store for you if you aren’t willing to let him have control. So, write that blank check.
QUESTIONS...
Who is someone you are aware of who wrote God a blank check? What do you admire about that person?
What might it look like for you to write God a blank check? What might a Whatever.Whenever.Wherever. prayer require of you?
Where are you currently struggling to trust God? What would help you to overcome your doubts and fully trust him?
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*If this has been helpful, please send me a message and let me know. And please share this post with others who could benefit. My writing aims to help people enjoy a vibrant relationship with Jesus, and it is an honor to be on this journey with you. To read previous newsletters, visit www.bradjenkins.me/blog. To sign up for my free newsletter about life, leadership, and the Bible, subscribe at www.bradjenkins.me/subscribe.