Attention Shift

Photo by Rhonda Waters

Have you ever been on a fourteen hour plane flight?  Last week I led a mission trip for Clayton King Ministries and Crossroads for 25 ladies.  We traveled for a total of 17 plane hours with a few hundred other people all feeling claustrophobic and jet lagged. Everyone was trying to trick their bodies into believing the upright, unyielding airplane seats were designed for optimal rest.

As I sat dreaming of sleep, I realized if someone hadn’t had the courage to believe plane flight was possible, I would have spent weeks sailing on a barge across the vast ocean.

I travel a lot, so it’s easy for me to assume when we reach the end of the runway, the plane is going to have enough speed and power to lift tons of pounds into the air.  But today I watched a Boeing 747 filled with people, luggage, gas and supplies, and for the first time in awhile, I marveled at the miracle it takes to lift one of these giants off the ground.  I don’t have a working knowledge of aviation and gravitational science, but where my knowledge stops, my experience helps me believe in the inconceivable.

It takes guts to have faith in the impossible.  I wonder how many people bet against the Wright Brothers or thought Columbus would topple off the edge of the earth when he set his sails west.  Edison was surely signing a death certificate when he tried to harness the power of lighting, and Alexander Bell was surely crazy to think people could communicate through a wire.

Noah spent his days building a boat to save his family from a flood when a drop of rain had never fallen from the sky.  And do you think people actually believed Mary was pregnant with the Son of God, or that Elisabeth’s son would usher in the Messiah?

We know none of these people were crazy because we’ve experienced the results of their faith.  But, I’m sure they received their fair share of criticism.  In the midst of accusation, Columbus discovered a new continent and proved the earth was round.  Edison harnessed electricity and Alexander Bell invented the phone.  Noah and his family were the only ones to survive the flood and Elisabeth’s son introduced the world to the Savior who came from Mary’s womb.

When I wake up in the morning, a part of me still feels like an 11 year old little girl wondering if I’ll ever make a difference in this world.  Today, I still wonder if my life will matter, but I also have evidence that he has used my life to help others, and so I believe he will continue.  When I doubt or when I hear criticism,  the words I have to hold on to are, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I was encouraged by these words yesterday from Shane Duffey, a pastor at Newspring Church.  “Believe more in the promises of God than the circumstance.  God doesn’t set us up to fail, but to have faith-SO HAVE FAITH!”

What will you dare to ask God for today?  When we change our attention, we shift our affections and find the straight path our hearts are longing for.

Tangible Take-Away:

• What are some things God has asked you to do that you felt like were beyond your capability?
• List the things he has already accomplished through you and some you are still waiting for.
• Take some time to dedicate/rededicate these dreams and desires to Jesus?

Offer It Up:

Jesus, it‘s easier to believe you will use other people for your kingdom to make a difference, but harder to believe you are using me.  Help me to see your work in my life and to believe you have much more in store for me; things beyond my imagination or natural capabilities.

Sweet Tweet:

• When we change our attention, we shift our affections and find the straight path our hearts are longing for.
• “God doesn’t set us up to fail, but to have faith-SO HAVE FAITH!”, Shane Duffey
• Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things above not on earthly things”