Maneuvers - No. 95
There’s More
Available for You
Have you ever seen a nest of baby birds, friend?
It’s an incredible sight. So defenseless and little (you could even say scrawny), these creatures are completely dependent on their mother for warmth, food, and shelter. Without her, they have nothing. And when she finally comes with their meal, they simply open their mouths as wide as possible and wait for her to fill them.
These baby birds are, in a way, a picture of us with our heavenly Father.
Can you think of the last time you felt like you couldn’t do something? Or the last time you felt weak and defenseless?
It can seem natural to limit ourselves based on what we’ve been able to do in the past—or what we’ve seen others able to do.
And yet, as children of God, we don’t have to abide by those limitations. Our King offers us more … more of his love, of his power, of his discernment, of his strength.
Scripture tells us: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it” (Psalm 81:10, NLT).
Friend, there is more available for us—today and tomorrow and the next day.
Will we receive it? Will we trust him to give us what we need?
Here’s what we heard for you …
01.
The Message
“Do not be discouraged. Do not be limited by what seems physically possible for you to do now. There is more available for you—more strength and more wisdom. I also have for you a greater capacity to believe me—a greater capacity for hearing my voice, discerning what I say.
“You are not alone in your decision making. You are not alone in your challenges. I have put you in situations where you have a choice—rely upon me and trust in my love for you or trust more in your abilities on your own. Do you want to be on your own? Do you want me to be the Father you need most, offering Hope that instills in you power to fight and dream?
“Again, I tell you, do not be discouraged by your circumstances. Do not trust your eyes, your ears, your emotions in your challenging moments without, in comparison, trusting most in me. You can trust in me. You can trust in me. For I am not discouraged—by anything. I am not dissuaded from keeping my attention on you—and your troubles are what I want to carry. Your challenges I want to use for good.
“Create goodness with your love and reliance upon me. Create beauty with your voice, being kind as I am kind. Create hope in your heart as it surrenders to the two of us being one.
“I am for you. I give you courage—and resilience—so you can stand up again when you have fallen. Let me define for you what strength is—so discouragement does not own you; it does not bring you down.
“You are mine, my very own—all I want, all I’ve dreamed of. I love speaking to you. I love being your Father. Come to me for all things. I want to be the main One to whom you listen. I want to be the One upon whom you place all of your love and trust.”
02.
Listen
What line from today’s message stood out to you most? What’s your response to that line? What longings does it stir in your heart? Let’s take a few minutes to write our response in our journals.
03.
Think
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:3, NLT).
1. Where do you need more peace, strength, and wisdom from God? What makes it hard to believe those things are readily available to you?
2. Where do you struggle to and rely on Jesus more than you rely on yourself?
3. What questions do you want to ask God right now? What doubts or concerns do you want to bring to him in prayer, trusting that he hears you and cares?
04.
Trust
Do you ever feel you aren’t enough? So did Gideon.
From the moment God called him to deliver the people of Israel from the Midianites’ oppression, Gideon didn’t feel he was enough.
“‘But Lord,’ Gideon replied, ‘how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!’” (Judges 6:15, NLT).
Instead of rebuking him for these doubts and fears, God responded: “I will be with you” (Judges 6:15, NLT).
Can you relate to Gideon in this passage, friend? We (Jennifer and Justin) certainly can. There have been times when God has called us to do things that seemed too big or scary. And there have been times when we’ve faced tough decisions—and we weren’t sure what to do.
But in each of those hard moments, friend, God is with us—and he has more for us. And we can choose to trust in him, even if we don’t know what the next step looks like yet.
Let’s return to this week’s message:
“Do not be discouraged. Do not be limited by what seems physically possible for you to do now. There is more available for you—more strength and more wisdom. I also have for you a greater capacity to believe me—a greater capacity for hearing my voice, discerning what I say.”
Do we believe this is true? For us? For today?
Let’s get in a position where it’s easy to let go and think. That may mean sinking into a chair you love sitting in or lying down on your bed or even going for a run in a nearby park. In this position, let’s close our eyes (if we can) and take a deep breath.
Let’s imagine the tough situations and decisions we’re facing right now as heavy stones. We’re holding them right now, and their weight makes it hard to walk or even breathe.
Now, imagine Jesus standing in front of us—eyes full of love and understanding. Then we start handing those stones (those decisions and circumstances) to him. With every stone we hand over, the weight gets lighter … and lighter … and lighter … until we feel practically weightless. Walking, breathing, running—it all feels so much easier.
We can open our eyes now. How did it feel, friend, to hand those burdens over to the One who wants to carry them for you? In your life personally, what does it look like for Jesus to be your strength and wisdom?
Let’s close in prayer.
05.
Pray
Father, you say that there’s more available for me. More wisdom, more strength, more capacity to hear your voice.
My natural mind tells me I’m not enough, not even enough to receive those things from you. But right now, I choose to trust you. I choose to receive all I need from you. (Let’s open our hands here and imagine ourselves receiving what we need from Jesus.)
I love you, Lord. Fill me with your light and your kindness. Let your love flow through me to this world around me.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Waving the banner with you,
