Time for Some Stretching

Stretching…I hate it, always have and probably always will. Back in the days of my athletic prowess, I didn’t like to stretch before games, but I did it. It is necessary and fundamental for our bodies if we are going to use them to their fullest potential. God, similarly, likes to see us stretch spiritually so we are ready for our next challenge. The things we don’t want to do begin to be the things we are asked to do during stretching times in our lives. We resist activities that God is calling us to do because we don’t see the benefit, but the irony is that God uses the things in our lives we dislike to shape and mold us into the servants He wants us to be. He tugs along the edges in uncomfortable places so we are more faithful, loving, serving and hopeful followers of Christ.

The core issue during uncomfortable times is trust. At this point in my life, I must trust the Lord even though every detail is not clear in the future; this is spoken of often in the New Testament. This is illustrated in 2 Corinthians 5:7 when it says, “We live by faith, not by sight.” This is the way of the Christian life, and it can be very uncomfortable and risky. Without the benefit of seeing the future, God calls his followers to trust Him by faith that He will take care of them. We must be confident that He will come through on His promises, and He will. I love this verse in Romans 8:24-25, “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” There it is; what is hope if you can see it? It isn’t hope, faith or trust; God wants us to trust Him completely because that is an indication He has our hearts. This is not easy no matter where one is in their walk with the Lord. God continually pulls and tugs at the places in our lives where we need to trust Him more completely because He is shaping us into followers more like His Son.

One of my favorite stories in the Gospels is found at the end of John 4. In verses 43-54, John describes the healing of the official’s son, an amazing story of faith – a lesson to us all about being stretched beyond our wildest dreams. Jesus was traveling through Galilee when a man of stature, a Roman official, came to him begging for his son’s healing. One might think that was a stretch in itself, a man of stature humbles himself to ask the help of a miracle worker. God didn’t think so; Jesus explains that it is not through seeing signs and wonders that people will believe in him. The official pleads with him that he must come with him before his child dies, but Jesus tells him, “Go, your son will live.” Are you kidding? I can only imagine what the Roman official was thinking, “I already showed faith by asking you to help me, now you expect me to go and assume my son is alright?” The Bible does not tell us what he was thinking, it only tells us what he did, and what he did teaches us a lesson of faith in Christ. The next phrase in John 4:50 is amazing, “The man took Jesus at his word and departed.” Unbelievable! What faith! At times when we face a crossroads, when we have a choice between trusting Christ or not, what are you going to do? The Roman official took Jesus at his word, and while he was on his way home, his servants met him with news that the boy was living.

John 4:43-54 shows the results of a faith in Christ that is stretched. God will do amazing things in your life, and you will have an amazing testimony of His faithfulness to tell the world. When trials and opportunities to trust the Lord draw near with money, relationships, careers and family, remember the story of the Roman official. Remember that God is using his people for something greater than themselves and in all things God gets the glory. God desires for us to become more like Jesus, and He uses these tough, stretching times to shape us.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:22-23