When Jesus walked on this earth during the 33 ½ years of his life, in some areas he was bound by his human body, although as I read Scripture, I see that he had abilities and power that as human beings we don’t have. He was able to read the thoughts of people; he was able to heal all diseases; he turned water into wine. After his resurrection he was no longer bound by human limitations; he appeared in the room where the disciples were without opening a door. Some of his last words spoken to the disciples are found in Matthew 28:18, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” That’s a lot of power!!!
If we could grasp the full meaning of that we would begin to understand that God does not view situations and conditions from the same perspective that we do. He views things from the perspective of eternity. He already knows how things are going to turn out.
Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told the disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the gift God had promised them; that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came to them. Paul wrote to the Ephesians about “his incomparably great power for us who believe “(Eph. 1:19) and “he is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us.” Eph. 3:20.
I have seen God work in my life, and turn things around that seemingly were impossible. One situation that comes to mind happened when my husband and I were ministering in a Dutch-Indonesian church in Holland. We had only been in Holland a few months when my husband and oldest son were in a car accident. The car was totaled and it was not insured!! Holland is a small country by American standards, but you still need a car to get around. We had no idea how we were going to get another car, and pay for the totaled one. I have never claimed to have the gift of faith, but in this situation, the Lord instilled such faith within me, that I just knew that within a short period of time we were going to get another car.
One of my husband’s nieces was visiting and we were discussing the need for a car. I spoke up and said, “We will have a car by summer.” She was just shocked and said, “Oh, you Pentecostal people!! You all talk the same.” (I took that as a compliment.) News of the accident reached America and donations began to come. One such donation really touched my heart. One of the young ladies who had been in our collage group shared about our situation with her roommate. She wrote that as she shared, her roommate began to weep and said “I have been saving my tithe because I didn’t know what to do with it since we are in school, and I feel the Lord wants me to send it to these people.” We didn’t even know that young lady and have never met her. But God supplied!!! We had a car by summer and the wrecked car was paid for!!
That’s just a down-to-earth example of God meeting a personal need. Let’s pray to view more things from God’s perspective and see him do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. He’s not nervous and pulling out his hair. He sees the end from the beginning.
Naomi Brinkman
