“How you see God will dictate how you see yourself, see your future, see your life. It’s your trademark, your watermark.”- Mark Batterson
Chapters 27-30 comprise The Fourth (and final) If– No Ifs, Ands or Buts About It. In the brief introduction, Mark Batterson writes that many God-ordained opportunities come disguised as problems. Seek God first and opportunity will seek you.
Therefore, how you see God is crucial to seizing God-ordained opportunities. A. W. Tozer, the author most often quoted by Pastor Batterson, has one statement that has underscored Mark’s theology more than any other:
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
It is essential we remember that Christ and the Holy Spirit are in our corner. In Chapter 27 (“The Cornerman”) of If, Mark reminds us that Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Paraclete. Translated comforter or counselor in English, Paraclete actually is a military term. It refers to Roman soldiers who would fight back-to-back when they got into hand-to-hand combat. As a result, the Roman soldiers protected each other’s back, or blind side.
Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit intercede for us day and night, night and day. Yet, as Mark explains, we struggle with feelings of distrust toward God:
“I think we struggle with . . . subliminal feelings toward God. We cognitively know all things work together for good, but when all hell breaks loose, it’s difficult to disengage our feelings of distrust.”
Consequently, Pastor Batterson contends, our lack of holy confidence stems from the fact that most of us don’t really know what Jesus does all day. Jesus is pleading our case, our cause. Jesus is in our corner. As Mark concludes, “that makes every what if possible.”
Today’s question (from Mark): What if you approached every situation, every challenge as if Christ were in your corner? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Event horizon”
