You Have No Idea

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.”—1 Thessalonians 5:23

Aspirations. Goals. Hopes. Pursuits. No matter how far along the journey, we all have them, because we were all built for seeing the tape at a finish line and breaking through it triumphantly.  In work, family, athletics, favorite hobbies, and especially this Great Adventure, finish line visions are entirely healthy. Because, at their root, triumphant aspirations are a God-breathed thing.  In one place in the Word, we’re exhorted to run in such a way as to get the prize. In another, to forget what lies behind and press on toward the goal. And no one in history modeled finish line mentality more completely and triumphantly than Jesus with His final three words on the cross.

In another place, the same writer who talked about running and pressing on also said things like the importance of not running aimlessly, or boxing wildly at the wind. Because aspirations, goals, hopes, and pursuits require not only imagining busting through the finish line, but laying out and following a strategy to get there. Which is probably why we are drawn like magnets to any one of the dozens of the great prayers of the Bible. They do all that. And many of them are so inspiring, and conjure up such spectacular images of what its particular finish line might look like, it sends a quiver through the stomach, right down to the toes. Like this one:

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. “(1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

We see these electrifying words. Our eyes may light up. And we want to swallow them all whole and expect great things. Right away. Until you get to the end of that very same day, and you feel like everything about swallowing that prayer turned out to be just the opposite—a full-volume awareness of attitudes that refused to crawl out of their rut, negative self-talk, whining under pressure, snapping at people (yes, you can do that really well even in your mind) who irritated you by something that, in the end, was really silly to get irritated about.

We think “epic fail.” God says, “Re-read the last sentence of that prayer you prayed this morning.”

Sanctify is a big word that basically comes down to Christ in me—a given for all who Believe—but then through me, and flowing out of me. Try as we might, there is no right away in those last two, which is why it's good to know that what we think was an epic fail moment even after the first day is not fail at all, but rather God’s "through and through" at work, touching and redeeming all the blind spots of our lives (sometimes, over and over and over again).

We picture busting through triumphantly at the finish line, and God says, "You have no idea how I desire to trump your wildest imagination. Trust Me, one more time, trust Me on this, because here's an even more amazing promise to swallow whole:

'No eye has ever seen or no ear has ever heard or no mind has ever thought of the wonderful things God has made ready for those who love Him.'”

 

Perfectly Enough

How great is Your goodness which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in You.—Psalm 31:19

The world’s finest, biggest, most technologically advanced, best inventoried, and fastest-shipping warehouse is bound to be a blessing to thousands if not millions in their time of need.

But there is one even better than that.

One that has no corporate office, no zip code, no national or international address.

In fact, you can’t get there from here without knowing the security code.

It is as old as the hills, but always ahead of the curve.

Its foundation has never been more solid.

Millions upon millions have given it high praise.

It never runs low on anything.

It never runs out of anything.

Ever.

There is no expiration date on any of its contents.

Things never get returned because they don’t fit or work correctly.

Nothing ever breaks, rips, tears, or spills.

Mainly because most of its contents are not things you can put your arms around.

Goodness things like mercy, grace, love, forgiveness, strength, hope, joy, perseverance, healing.

Things whose arms are meant to be wrapped around you.

All delivered with no shipping fees.

In fact, best and most amazing of all, no cash, check, credit card or good deed are ever required.

Everything has already been paid for by Someone else, once and for all.

“Trust God. Love God. Believe God. Follow God. Ask God. Thank God.”

This is the simple security pass that will grant anyone access to the only storehouse in all of Creation that has no ceiling (and even if it had one, no one would be able to see that far up anyway), whose length and width is measureless, and where delivery of the perfect supply always arrives on time.

Perfect, even when it’s not exactly what we requested.

“’Stop asking so much! My grace reservoir is running dry.' Heaven knows no such words."—Max Lucado