APOSTOLIC News

The room was all wall-to-ceiling bookcases,    decked with myriads of exotic trinkets in carved  jade and carved ivory, inlaid wood and  porcelain. There were hanging tassels and  shaded lamps, embroidered cushions on an oversized couch, wingback chairs, marble steps, small stools — and wall to wall young adults. It was Tuesday night Bible study in Jerusalem, and the topic of our discussion was money: how to trust God for it, and what to do when He doesn’t immediately answer.

The example at hand: Paul the apostle, who had learned to be content in every shade of wealth and poverty. Such a realization could be possible only, we realized, by actually being in each of those conditions!

Then Tim raised the question: If it’s so hard to trust God now, what about the burdens of family life, choosing a career or selecting a spouse? A more than slightly daunting thought to a mostly single crowd.

There are new conditions for me now: seeking God’s path for my life. Trusting that not a day of singleness has ever gone to waste. Stewarding my opportunities in the midst of uncertainty. Somehow creating something out of nothing. And in the stuck spots of life, deflecting my focus from impossibilities to my Savior’s face.

I’m finding great contentment and confidence in God’s purposes for me as an individual.

Sometimes God immerses us in impossibilities. Other times, I think He merely beckons: Would you like to trust Me here? Perhaps in forced encounters with the impossible, we grow the spiritual muscle necessary for more audacious requests. A boldness of faith that dares — when He dares you — even to take on new obligations and new responsibility, willing to show that in this condition, too, my God is enough — and more.

But who would voluntarily put themselves in such a place? Who hears the call to constant out-on-a-limb reliance on God and says, “Sign me up!”

“With men this is impossible,” says Jesus.

“But all things are possible with God.”

Whether its finances, faith, or matters of life and death, all things are possible with God.

When Peter saw Jesus walking on the water, he longed to join in the impossible. “Lord, if it is you,” he cried, “Command me to come to you on the water.”

And when Jesus said “Come” — he could.

So if a call comes for me: Will you take this trip? Will you accept this task? Or even: Are you willing to risk your life?

I take a deep breath. I ask: Is it You, Lord?

And joyfully, confidently, prayerfully, I walk into the impossible.

On purpose.

Excerpt from the article by Elizabeth Adams – Boundless Magazine (May 14, 2010.)

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0002289.cfm

Amber Baus holds a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Studies from California Baptist University and is pursuing a teaching credential in Special Education. She is currently employed with the Riverside County Office of Education as an Administrative Assistant in Technology. Amber attends Inland Lighthouse Church pastored by Rev. Larry Booker where is she is involved with a variety of ministries and community programs.