“We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be,
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.”- Lutheran Service Book 781, v. 1
Mark Batterson continues Chapter 5 of All In by stating that the source of our dreams is the Holy Spirit-the Dream Maker. If we’re locked in to the Holy Spirit, the author explains, “He will conceive a single-cell desire within you that has the potential to become a God-sized dream if nurtured with prayer.”
While we can get good ideas from many different places- classrooms, conferences, bookstores- there is only one source of God-ideas, the Holy Spirit. Just as God proclaimed the promise of a child to Abraham and conceived that promise within Sarah, God will deliver what He conceives in us. However, we must be willing to go through the labor pains.
Pastor Batterson emphasizes that the key to keeping God’s calling in perspective is to eliminate the possessive pronoun my from our vocabulary:
“The truth of the matter is that you can’t really say mine about anything. Nothing belongs to you- not your house, not your car, not your clothes. Every material thing you own is a by-product of the time, talent, and treasure God has given you. When you kneel at the foot of the cross, the possessive pronoun is eliminated from your vocabulary. There is no more me, my, or mine.”
Today’s question: Inspired by the Holy Spirit, what God-ideas have been nurtured within you following your ministry downsizing or vocation loss? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Burn the ships”
