1) Make God Your Priority

God is our Creator and Father and, as such, He intensely loves us. He is the only thing in your whole life that will never let you down.Your smarts, good looks, money, fame, power or position will all fail you sooner or later because they are temporal. When life’s pressures are increasing or your spouse is not doing all the things that you think they should, God is the one that will cause things to turn around. It will be Him that heals brokenness. It will be Him that sustains you in life’s biggest trials. It will be Him that will supply all your needs. When we put down our own will and agendas and pick up His, it is amazing how life’s circumstance don’t have to change for our mindset to be changed. I know what it is to have more money then bills and I know what it is to run out of money weeks before any paycheck is coming, I am learning how in both things you must celebrate what you have. If you do this it takes the temporal out of the eternal, meaning we were placed on earth to serve an eternal God, but if we only focus on the momentary circumstance then we lose focus on why we were placed here. We serve a faithful God and He will come through with provision.

2) Pray, Pray Often, and Pray More

Since I was a little boy, I have always prayed before meals, before bed, or in dire circumstances, my wife has shown me the importance of praying to communicate with God. I was taught early in life to pray, but having a wife who is eager for me to succeed in leading our family and my realization that my own creativity was not enough to get me to success has led me to pray. Not the kind of haphazard prayers thrown out to a distant god, but the kind of prayers that are one half of a conversation with a very near God. Prayer with the intention to listen to the communication coming back my way can cause changes to position, odds and outcomes. When we earnestly seek God with a willingness to act, He will be faithful to speak. My wife has shown me that if you build a lifestyle of prayer into your life then you will hear God more often, have passion for where God is leading you, and strengthen those that you pray for. As a husband, I badly need the supportive prayers of my godly wife. As a wife, she badly needs the loving prayers of a godly husband.

3) Put Your Spouse’s Interests First

When we were first married I would put my own interests first and mask it by saying it was in “OUR” best interest. The problem was if I was pressed on the decision or if it was a bad decision then it would be easy to see that I was just selfish. I felt horrible that we were in a partnership that heavily waited in my inability to let go of self. We were supposedly a team but I wanted me to be more comfortable then anyone else. Even as I type this I am realizing I wrongly thought that if I was happy then my wife and son would be happy as well. This is what I would use to justify my selfishness. I would internally think my wife loved me more then I loved her. She was selfless, I was selfish. Over these five years my wife has never backed away from being selfless (in fact I think she is even more selfless) and that has helped me grow more selfless. Also in Ephesians 5:25 it says “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,” A proper understanding of this verse has rocked my understanding of how I am supposed to treat my wife. With no thought of self, Christ was beaten, bruised, bled and died for the church. Just as Christ was selfless I too must be selfless. That is a ginormous challenge. One that five years ago I don’t think I would have been willing to complete, but today I wake up excited about how I am going to fulfill my right to love and protect my wife through dying to self constantly with Christ as my example.

4) Have Fun

Since the moment we were married, we have enjoyed a continuous adventurous party. To be quite honest, this is something we have taught each other. I think it is a cyclical process, we are constantly learning from each other how to have fun in tough situations and not to take ourselves too seriously. We try to make every day better then the the one before it. I don’t know that we are always successful but when we do we always find a way to celebrate. If I had to pick one word that would describe our marriage it would be FUN. We have bought houses, bought and sold cars, had our first son, been ordained, moved four times and many other things all the while having the most fun possible. If Christ came for us to have “life to the fullest” then why would I settle for anything less? Some people look at life as though their glass is half full, others as if their “glass is half empty”. We live our life full of faith saying our “glass is TOTALLY full”. This is not ignoring life’s circumstances or turning a blind eye to what is going on around us. Instead, it is making a point to laugh at ourselves and with each other. We make a point to find a way to laugh at the daily struggles that just grate on you. Those times where you feel like some mangy, low level demon is trying to get at you. It is just plain annoying. For us, life is too short to grit your teeth over everyday struggles. After a while you will wear your teeth away and then you are just gritting your gums (No Fun). So again, have fun with your spouse and live life to the fullest.

Thank you AnnaMarie for being my perfect match. You are a prayer warrior, a tenacious teammate, and a dream I never want to end. You are my favorite! I would pick you all over again. I hope I can make you proud that you pick me. These last five years have been amazing. I can’t wait to see where the next five takes us.

As I walked I realized how strange it was because rain back home, in Las Vegas, comes in large downpours. It doesn’t really drizzle. It is not unusual to get more then a half inch of rain in just 20 minutes and the ground is so hard that the water will just run right off and never saturate the ground. The rain runoff would flood the city and wreak havoc on unsuspecting people caught in the ensuing river. The downpour would happen so fast that the streets will be dry within an hour or so. Normally if there are storm clouds in the skies of Las Vegas, and you can smell a faint odor of rain then it will definitely be raining soon. Inversely, if it is sunny then there is no way it will be raining. This rain, however was totally different. The sun was shining, there was no clouds directly overhead and no smell of rain. Based on my experience there was no reason I should worry. But the weather here is different. It may be sunny at the time but within minutes all that can change. It is not unusual for there to be multiple seasons in one day. Because it is so wet here the ground is soft and damp and additional rain can easily be absorbed. This leads to the roads and ground usually being wet but not often flooded.

This day, like most days when I walk, I used the time to pray and talk with God. I love it. Usually it is the only time I have 30 minutes of uninterrupted time where I can focus almost completely on God. I pray all kinds of things. Thanking God for His grace for us. Thanking Him for a loving family. Praying for my wife, son and family and friends, both here and back home in Las Vegas. God is always faithful to speaks if I am willing to listen and let other noises fade into the background. On this day, at some point in my walking prayer I started to get cold and I decided to zip up my jacket. As I did, I realized that the drizzle, though not heavy or intense, was starting to soak me because I had been in it so long. Because I was walking into the wind, the front of my clothes were totally soaked and now I was questioning whether I should have been so quick to refuse the ride home from a friend. Also, because the drops were so light and flying horizontal, I realized that even if I had an umbrella, it would not have protected me from the soaking that I was experiencing. Either I was going to be in the rain and damp or I was going to be out of it and dry. If you were walking next to me at the time you would have heard me say, “God I know you are trying to tell me something in this. What is it?”

And that is the moment God began to speak to me in living color. Often times we live life looking for a downpour from God. We want something heavy. Something quick. Something life changing. Something epic that affects our whole life and the whole city in an instant. Though God can and does sometimes move like that, it is not His only way. But because we are only looking for that huge downpour, our lives get hardened and unable to be affected by any small amount of His Spirit. We read books, download podcasts and go to conferences just trying to get hooked up with our next big “fix” of God. Many of us are busying ourselves just for the hope that we will be hit with a deluge of God and often times we go home disappointed because He didn’t do what we expected.

It reminds me of the story out of 1 Kings 19 where Elijah, who is hiding from an enemy in a cave, is told by God to exit the cave and go stand on a mountain because the Lord is about to pass by.  Immediately a mighty wind comes and breaks the mountain. Then an earthquake comes followed by a fire. Certainly an all powerful God would use those signs to reveal His presence, but He didn’t. After each powerful sign the Bible says the Lord was not in it. Verse 12 says after the fire, came “a still small voice” and THAT is where God’s presence was.  The Bible says that wasn’t until Elijah heard the voice that he wrapped his face in his cloak, stepped out of the cave and stood before the Lord. Notice that the small voice was still or as other translations put it, gentle. In all the chaos and destruction, God was calm. What would have happened had Elijah gone out of the cave to see God during the wind, earthquake or fire? Obviously there would have been a lot of physical forces at work and an epic display both audibly and visually. He would have seen and heard some amazing things that, as a prophet, he could have used to embolden himself or others, but that wasn’t Elijah’s goal. Elijah wanted something greater. He didn’t just want the physical effects. He wanted the Effector of the physical. Because Elijah had relationship with God, he knew what God sounded like. And it was at this point that God spoke to Elijah to show him the next steps to take.

As I was finishing my rain soaked walk home it became quite clear what God was trying to show me. God does not want to drop huge buckets of Holy Spirit water on us sporadically throughout life while we become dry between the downpours. Instead, He wants to constantly drizzle on us through a relationship with Him, so that we stay soft, pliable and damp. It is this constant drizzle that keep us absorbent and moldable to the fresh daily rain, ready for the future downpours when they come and able to give to others that are becoming dry and distant from God. He has great things to say to us daily if we will stay ready and willing to hear them and act accordingly. God doesn’t just speak to hear himself talk, but He is wanting a relationship with us. Who will be willing to know Him daily? Who will seek to know His voice? Those that do will be the ones that truly hear His words. Will you be one?

Proverbs 22:1 says “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”

I don’t know if it was my parents genius, their wisdom or God’s plan, but when I was named John Oakley Walker my life was forever connected to one of the most amazing men I have ever know. Because of John Oakley Burnham I knew every day that I had a purpose and I came from somewhere. My lineage didn’t start or stop with me. From the time I was a little boy I was told stories of a man who fought in the war, ran from God, came back to God with passion and for many years preached boldly the name of Jesus. As I grew up, it was as if Uncle Johnny was a superhero. It was as if I were named after Superman himself and I had super powers that his name gave me. I didn’t see Uncle Johnny often but he was never far from me. When i was in elementary school, when other kids were getting made fun of for their weird names, I proudly told the other kids my name. As kids often do, they would try to make up funny names to tease me, but I would hold my head high and remember a man who was big and strong and loved Jesus. For me, carrying Uncle Johnny’s name has been a privilege and a honor. I have often walked into a business meeting and had something great to talk about when I introduced myself as Johnny Walker. The response was almost always in relation to the scotch of the same name. I would quickly recount the story of being named after a great man. Uncle Johnny was so loving to me, when he came to see us, he always encouraged me. Though he lived so far away I desired to make him proud. It was such an honor to have Uncle Johnny hear me preach before he passed away. Following him and many of other family members into the pastorate has given me a new respect for him. He loved people but he loved Jesus Christ more. My parents may have thought it was a good idea to name me after Uncle Johnny but I am fully aware that because of it, he and Aunt Gisela prayed for me often. We have been forever linked. First with our given names John Oakley Burnham and John Oakley Walker and our chosen names, Christian. Uncle Johnny may have been many things to many people in this room but for me he has been a living, breathing example of why a good name is to be chosen. It is because of him, I know that it matters who you associate yourself with. It is because of his name that I proudly hold my head high and proclaim the name of Jesus. And it is because of my connection to him that my wife and I named my son after both my father and my father-in-law. I pray that one day my son will experience the joy of carrying a great man’s name as I have. Uncle Johnny will be greatly missed but his name I will carry even more proudly knowing, for eternity, he is partying with the Creator of the universe. Thank you John Oakley Burnham for passing on a heritage of courage, boldness and passion to me  that I, John Oakley Walker, happily pass on to my generation and the generation to follow.

As we have been on our adventure here in England, God has been teaching me about how important it is to surround myself with people that will strengthen me and enhance Christ’s presence in my life. This means choosing quality friends. There are lots of people we will meet that are nice people with great passion for Christ, but only a few who will be my close friends that will be able to strengthen me and I will be able to strengthen. Choose your close friends wisely. God wants us to sharpen each other, through relationship, as we press closer in relationship to Him. He loves us and wants us to love Him. Let me just encourage you… Choose a good name over wealth and riches. It may be the tough decision short term and cause discomfort but, based on what the Bible has said, it will be better in the future if you do.

Another strange feeling we have experienced, while here, is the feeling of being out of place. Whether it is in the groceries or the parks or just walking the streets. Every day we find new things that are different to what we know from home. We now know the trunk of a car is a boot and the hood is a bonnet. A shovel is called a spade. Small chocolate chip cookies are not cookies, but biscuits. Although sometimes they are cookies especially if they are Maryland brand. Big soft cookies are always cookies. A stroller is a pushchair or a pram. Potato chips are called crisps and french fries, if they are fat, are chips but they are french fries if they are thin. Soccer is football not futbal. They always tease us that American football doesn’t make any sense because you always carry it with your hands and “besides it is just rugby with pads and only girls play rugby with pads.” (Are you confused yet?)

In all of the differences, we have found a place of familiarity and comfort. In all the places where we have felt lost and confused, there is place where we feel at home. These days, we find the most comfort in the presence of God. Whether it is in a Sunday service, a Harvest Group (home group), alone in our personal prayer time or a prayer meeting we find ourselves in God’s presence. When I find myself there, I am almost surprised by how familiar it feels. I have a new understanding to the scriptures…

“For I am the LORD, I do not change…” – Malachi 3:6a

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” – Hebrews 13:8

While these scriptures clearly speak about time, it is quite amazing to serve a God that doesn’t change geographically. It means I can travel 5000 miles away from home and find the same God who loves me the same as He continues to speak similar things in a similar way but a new location. It is the SAME God. He is doing something unique here but as His people seek to hear His voice, He if faithful to speak so that we hear. It has been our joy to find people that have a similar passion to know God and His presence. It is that passion to know God that has helped us realise how busy we were back home. I believe that one of the reasons God has brought us this far away from all that we know is because He wants to speak to us in a new way and He doesn’t want us so busy that we can’t hear Him. What a loving and caring God that would ask us to sell everything and move to a foreign land because He wants to teach us something. That may not sound like love, but what I know about God is that He does big things to get our attention when He has big plans for us. Which is why I am excited to have a renewed desire to be in God’s presence. It is His presence that has become our sustenance. It is His presence where we find Him waiting to speak to us. When He speaks I want to be open to listen and quick to act. I am so thankful that, because of the Holy Spirit, I can be in His presence constantly. That is why we have been living out what King David spoke about…

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.” -Psalm 139:7-10

As I continue to get more familiar with our surroundings and the English culture, my prayer is that I keep hungry for His presence. It will be there that I find His hand waiting to lead me. It will be there that I will hear His voice. And above all, it will be there that I will deepen my relationship with Him. I want to know Him, listen to Him and be led by Him.

Before we came to England, several friends that have lived here told us to be prepared for everything to be different. I never would have believed how far stretching that would be. They say that if you can figure out the accent an Englishman has then you can know exactly where they are from. This may be true but I spend most of my time just trying to catch up to what they are saying. Up until now, I can’t even figure out if they are speaking english let along trying to guess what area of the country. It is so bad that on Sunday there was a guy who introduced himself and I thought, “Wow, that is a unique accent. I don’t think I have heard that before.” As he continued to speak, it turned out that he was from Nebraska. Ha ha. No wonder I hadn’t heard the accent. He was the first American I had met in the UK.

Before we came to Huddersfield, we were told we would be going to our own home right away. It sounded fantastic to be able to step off the plane and walk right in to our own space. But as the details began to work themselves out, I am so glad that it did not turn out that way. Instead of going to our own private home we have been living with a host family. Let me tell you, our host family, which I would already call my friends, have been phenomenal. They are amazingly kind, helpful, generous and, above all, loving. They are the embodiment of what Christ asked of all Christians, that we love one another. By having us spend the first week away from home with awesome people, that we have already grown to love, our time has been filled with great conversation and activities that has helped to minimize the feelings of loneliness. We will forever be indebted to them for their willingness to open their home and family to us. Please join us as we are praying for blessings to come upon them and health for their children.

Every part of being here has confirmed that we are in the epicenter of the perfect will of God. He has a plan for us to be here. What is fun is that we don’t know what it is but we are excited to see it unfold as we “Follow The Cloud”. We serve a great God who leads us directly where we should go as long as we are bold enough to listen and courageous enough to act on His word. Be brave and follow God. You will go places you never thought you would and your life will never be the same.

This week my wife reminded me of these verses out of Philippians:

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:4-7 (NKJV)

She reminded me how on our adventure we shouldn’t be anxious for anything but instead let’s be thankful for what God has constantly done for us. The amazing thing about that is when we live this way it is the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, that guards our hearts and minds. Let me tell you, from first hand experience, I need that peace and I need my heart and mind guarded. They are very good at becoming anxious. So through this next week and into our adventure, I am deciding to rejoice in what God is doing and what He has given us. God is so generous and is already working on our behalf 5000 miles away in Huddersfield. I am enjoying the time I get to spend with my friends here this week and look forward to the new friends and new miracles we are going to experience in the UK. This will be one short week, but one that we will remember forever.

What growing a holiday beard has taught me about tithe:

1. Even if you do nothing something is still happening. Like not shaving, if you have decided to not tithe it doesn’t mean something is not growing. Not tithing has just as powerful a reaction as not shaving.  When I don’t shave, my beard still grows. When I don’t tithe, the Bible says I bring a curse on my family.  Doing nothing doesn’t mean nothing is happening.

2. The longer you do it the easier it is to do. When I first started growing my Holiday Beard it was a little uncomfortable, but after a couple of weeks it became much easier  and now I almost forget that it is there. Tithe is similar, the more I do it the easier it is for me keep doing it.

3. At some point you just have to commit to it. There is part of growing a beard where you can talk all you want about what you would like your Holiday Beard to look like and how big it is going to be, but talk doesn’t grow and shape your beard; commitment to the process does. Tithe is the same, all the ”faith talking” and excuses do not bring the blessings of the Lord like commitment to tithing and then actually doing it.

4. You need good friends around you that are willing to tell you, you have a problem & you look like a thief. Whether you have food in your Holiday Beard or it is getting out of control bushy, you need someone close to you that is willing to tell you the truth. In tithing, everyone needs a good friend to tell them the truth of the Bible, if you don’t tithe you are robbing God. It is the truth and only a good friend will love you deeply enough to understand your situation and still tell you the truth.

5. Others see it differently then you do. You may think your Holiday Beard looks great, but others are seeing the whole picture. The truth may be that it is crooked or needs to be trimmed. In tithe, you might think you are doing a good job giving close to 10% or giving on weeks you have the extra money in your pocket, but not quite there. In those times it is easy to pat yourself on the back and think you are doing great, but in actuality you are tipping God and not tithing. In both growing a Holiday Beard and tithe, get the opinion and advice of others that you trust.

6. Good friends will support you in it. While growing my Holiday Beard, people either loved it or hated it, but because it was important to me my good friends supported me. In tithe it is the same, because God says to tithe then it is important to me and my good friends will support me in doing it.

7. With a little effort it is a lot of fun. As I continued growing my Holiday Beard it turned a corner from “can I grow one” to “how thick can it be”. As it turned, I was able to have more fun with growing it and seeing people’s reactions who hadn’t seen me in some time. It was a great conversation starter. When tithe turns from “can I really give 10% to God” to “how much more can I give to God” it really starts getting fun. This is the one thing you can test God in, make it fun.

8. With no effort it can be very bad. There were several moments over the last 6 weeks where I was too busy to trim my Holiday Beard. After a couple days of not trimming, it would be out of control. It’s like it knew I wasn’t paying any attention and it ran amuck. In tithing, we always must pay attention and not get lazy or miss the promptings of God. He loves a cheerful giver.

9. Even when it is a bit uncomfortable it is still AWESOME. There were several moments while growing my Holiday Beard that I thought I couldn’t go on. In might sound like an exaggeration, but I felt claustrophobic several times with it being itchy and just always on me face. Even in those moments the Holiday Beard was still awesome. It was still awesomely awesome. Tithing can feel similarly sometimes. Taking it off the top instead of waiting until everything is paid isn’t always easy. In fact, doing so has sometimes meant not paying a bill, but doing what God has asked me to do in the way He has asked me to do it, is always awesome….plus, He said He would provide for the needs of those who love Him.

10. Jesus did it!! Not much explanation needed here. I bet Jesus knew how to grow an awesome beard and He paid His tithes. So
next time you wonder “should I grow a Holiday Beard” or “should I tithe”, just WWJD it and the answer is “YES, YOU SHOULD”.

#3 The moment of the miraculous occurs when we acknowledge our own inabilities.

This is at the core of what I love about God: He will never force you to do something. Don’t get me wrong, He is very good at helping you make a wise decision and choose to follow Him even if it is something hard, but He will never force you into the decision. He gives us freewill to decide if we are going to follow Him. This is an ongoing decision that we all have to constantly make, because He is constantly leading if you will constantly follow. As I wrote 2 weeks ago, when we are in the height of our struggle He is about to meet us with the miraculous, but God is willing to let you struggle it out, by yourself, as long as you want. He won’t force you to follow, although He wants you to follow and it is in your best interest to follow asap. The earlier we follow, the earlier we begin to live in His miraculous blessings. But let’s be VERY clear, everyone will bow at some point. It may not be on this earth, but at some point we all have to face our Creator.

“Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other. 23 I have sworn by my own name, and I will never go back on my word: Every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will confess allegiance to my name.” Isaiah 45:22-23(NLT)

I know a lot of people who spend most of their lives fighting to prove that they can make it on their own as if the whole world thinks they are failures. These people are usually amazingly gifted people. God gave them some incredible talents. Those talents have launched them into extraordinary success. This success in specific areas of their life has fed into the thoughts that they are “self-made”. Unfortunately, they are missing the big picture. Yes, they have worked hard. Yes, they have done well for themselves. Yes, they are head and shoulders above others around them. Yes, because of their smarts, intellect, business sense, or decision making abilities they are prosperous. BUT each of those things are a gift from an amazingly loving Creator. They are only successful because God knew them before they were formed in their mothers womb. Is that hard to accept? At times, for me it has been. I want to think I have an active role in my own success. I want to think that my hard work will pay off in my own success.

Good News!! We do have an active role. We do have a huge part to play in our ongoing success. Just as freewill lets us choose to follow Christ, freewill also lets us choose to release the Holy Spirit into our life. Because here’s the deal: Our inability to admit our own insufficiency will limit the effectiveness of God’s sufficiency in your life. God is: All-powerful, All-knowing, Everywhere and at all times. God already made the way for you and already paid the biggest price. And now He is smart enough, wise enough and supernatural enough to create the miraculous in your life that pulls you out of where you are stuck and lift you to new levels of success. It is when we are strong enough to admit we can’t live this life on our own that He steps in and shows His power. There are always 2 parts to every miracle; our part and God’s part. His will ALWAYS do His part. Will you do yours?

#2 The moment of the miraculous occurs in the way God wants.

As the Creator, it is God who has the right to do the things in the way He wants. This is important to understand, because in these times of prolonged struggles, it is easy to spend our time thinking about all the ways to get ourselves out of the bad situations of life. The stresses begin to push against us, mixing with the weight of the people that are depending on us, often causing the normally level-headed person to do some erratic things. I have seen people take jobs that they had no business taking or see a morally “gray” issue as “white” because it would help keep the power on in their home. Here in Las Vegas we have a slot machine called Megabucks which often has a jackpot in the tens of millions of dollars. I have, at times, played Megabucks and prayed, “Dear Lord please bless me with winning this jackpot. I will tithe the winnings and give money away. I’ll even buy my parents a nice vacation house.” Other times I have wished that I had a “long lost” relative that had amassed a huge fortune and after a long life, they pass away. In their generosity, they would leave some money to me. That would be awesome! Needless to say those prayers and similar outlandish prayers have yet to be answered. If God does ever decide to bless me in this way, I will be open to it, but until then it has been a lesson in the miraculous. What I have found is God works in the way He pleases. It is not my manipulation of Him or my creative thinking that will cause God to do something.

I see 2 major erroneous thoughts in a prolonged time of trouble. First, we get so creative in problem solving that we eliminate any chance for the Creator to be creative. We think about all of the “what-ifs” and begin to implement our escape plans without ever consulting our Maker. “Maybe I should get a new job.” “Maybe if I move cities life will be better.” “Maybe I should take this strange root from a strange tree in Africa to heal me.” If these “maybes” don’t work, we jump to the next great idea all the while leaving a wake behind us of broken dreams. Often we are just digging our hole deeper and deeper. Secondly, we can become so passive that we miss the moment of the miraculous and settle for the usual. We say things like “If God wants me out of this situation, He’ll do it.” If He never get’s us out of the struggle, in the way we think He should, we begin to blame God or others for the problems in which we continue to live. Both of these erroneous thoughts are wrong because it puts the focus on the wrong thing. Both are self focused. In the first, we clearly are the ones trying to force something into working. If it works great we may give God glory, but let’s be honest, IT’S ALL ABOUT US. We made it happen. We were creative and we got ourselves out. In the second thought, we are the judge of whether God actually is moving and working on our behalf. If He doesn’t act in just the right way or do it in a big enough way then it wasn’t Him moving at all. We want to see clouds parting and audible voices heard by all. This can be horribly paralyzing and let’s be honest, IT’S STILL ALL ABOUT US.

So what should we do? The prophet Isaiah says…

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Is 55:8-9 (NIV)

We have to learn to trust that God is thinking about us and knows what is happening in our life. Jeremiah says this,

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jer 29:11 (NIV)

We have a choice. Do it with God in His way or go at life alone in our way. Our loving God is waiting for us to let Him do what He does best… Work a miracle. We serve a miracle-working God and He is just waiting for us to give up and ask Him what He wants us to do. I guarantee that if we will spend more time listening than talking then God’s voice becomes a lot more clear. He wants to prosper us. He wants us to trust in Him. Your miracle may not be packaged the way you were expecting. It may not come through the means you had hoped. It may not even come as quickly as you would have liked it. But one thing is for sure, if you do your part and seek God, then He will do His part and cause the miraculous to take place in your life.

As I read the account Jesus’ feeding of the 5000 in John 6:1-14, I began to see a pattern that is mirrored throughout the Bible and personally in my own life as well. I know God is a God of pattern and structure. He has created patterns and predictability in life and the things around us so that we can know we weren’t put on earth by “chance”. As I read this section of John, it became clear that even in the miraculous there is a pattern and a moment that the miraculous occurs. It is almost as if God was saying, “Do you need a miracle? Then here is what you need to look for.” For the sake of brevity I am going to break down the pattern over the next few blog entries.

#1) The moment of the miraculous occurs at the height of the struggle.

Whether it was the woman with an issue of blood, turning the water into wine, Lazarus raising from the dead or receiving an unexpected check in the mail, God is amazingly able to let us go further then we thought we could go. Yet he is omnipotently able to provide the miraculous. There is something about a struggle that makes us dig in and work harder to get out of the struggle. Many people are doing that right now in their finances. There has been an economic downturn and many people have “tightened their belt” to get through this time. In Las Vegas, we have an unemployment rate as high as 20-30%. The analysts are saying there is no end in sight. We will be this way until 2012?! It is tragic, but people are fighting to get through.

It makes me wonder are we at the height of our struggle? Is it possible that God is trying to get our attention? Many times right before a miracle people will say, “I can’t go on” or “This is never going to end.” At the height of a struggle there is a desperation, loneliness and depression. Where we direct those emotions will either position us for or remove us from the miraculous. Sometimes we put ourselves in the wrong place. Other times God is allowing things to happen so that we grow. Either way it is up to us to align ourselves with God’s will.

In the height of the struggle, it can feel horribly lonely. It can feel like no one understands what you are going through. It can feel like we are going at life alone. Especially if others around you are succeeding with little effort. But be encouraged, you are not alone! Think about these 2 examples: Joshua, just after Moses died. Joshua followed Moses for 40 years in the desert and saw a whole generation die off without entering the promised land. Moses was the only leader he had ever known and now he is dead. That is when the word of God comes to Joshua and says clearly, “Be strong and of good courage, for I am with you.” What an awesome word of clarity. Secondly, Jesus Christ, Himself, moments before His death on the cross. He has already been beaten and spit upon. He has already been mocked and kicked. He has already had the crown of thorns driven into His skull and laughed at. He has already carried His cross up the hill and nailed to it. As He is about to die, He feels the weight of all mankind’s struggles and cries out, “Eloi, Eloi,” “lama” “sabachthani?”"–which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”(Matthew 27:46).

You are not alone. Even in your struggles, God knows how you feel. If you feel trapped, depressed or caught in a struggle, no matter how small or big, I believe you are on the precipice of a miracle. You are about to have a moment where the supernatural invades your life and changes everything so that you can see God’s glory at work. Stay focus! Stay alert! Complete the journey for God is with you!