Expanding!

Some time ago, I called my brother, who is miles away, to say hello, check in and find out how his family was doing. They were doing just great. In fact, at the very moment I called, there was a cake-tasting going on. My nieces, none of them older than seven years at that time, were giving their expert opinion on the taste of cake. I was more than a bit envious. I really need to relocate to be part of those sessions. Join my nieces in the wonderful world of cake.

Anyway, the conversation moved away from cake and I mentioned that I needed to get a new phone because I couldn’t download all the apps I wanted. The internal memory of the phone was just 16G. My brother exclaimed, “Oh no! That’s too limiting!” I agreed. I seriously needed to upgrade. And the most annoying part, I had to start deleting pictures that I loved. Has that ever happened to you?

It got me thinking not just about my apps, but about life. How we sometimes limit ourselves (not always of our own doing). There is a portion in the bible that says “expand the corners of your tent, spread out!” But, if you are like me, the next thing I ask God is how? (Just like how I was managing my old phone because, well, you need money to get a new phone.) So the how part can be daunting. How? I like clear cut instructions, you know. No fuzzy details or hidden agendas. Do I buy a tent? How do I spread out? Sometimes I don’t get the answer immediately and this one took a while.

After quite a while, in the story of Joshua and the Israelites marching into Canaan, it came to me. Moses had died and the Lord said, Hey Josh, get up, go into the land that I am giving to Israel. And He added, “Every place on which the soles of your feet tread, I have given it to you.”

Again, if you are like me, I sometimes read the bible so fast I have to tell myself to slow down, to stop. So let’s park here for a while. Was there a land to inherit? Yes. Had it been given to Israel? Yes. Did they have it? If they went in, yes. How much did they have of it? As much as they walked on and took. Fast forward to Joshua Chapter 13, the Lord says, Hey Josh, you are old, but there is still very much land to be possessed. Whoa! Very much land? What happened? Weren’t they already in the land? They were. So why was there so much still to be possessed? Because they weren’t taking it.

Enlargement is all about taking what is already yours. It’s all about faith. How much we see is how much we enlarge and take. It’s all there. God is always giving. God is always supplying. I like to do something when there’s a situation I’m not sure about and do not like. When reality says so and so but I don’t agree with it, I write down the facts on one side, and then beside it, I write down the truth of what God’s word says about that situation. Because fact is not always true.

I may be lying sick on my bed, sneezing and coughing my insides out but God says, by Jesus stripes, I am healed. And surely, He took up our pain and bore our suffering. All right. At this point, I have a decision to make: to believe the truth or not. Not that the present experience isn’t real because remember, my nose probably feels like it’s about to fall off by now. But when we choose to believe the truth, then we have taken a step of faith and wherever the soles of our feet tread are ours. Meaning, just then, you have just expanded your territory of healing and health. Immediately you see how God sees, you get what He gives. Don’t worry about the timing. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Aha.

Do you know that a lot of what we say isn’t really biblical? There is an entire barrage of things we take for granted and we tell ourselves. For instance- You’re getting old. Get your career moving. Get married. (Coincidentally, my other brother got married just last week. Exciting, right! And I say, coincidentally because I wrote this before he got married.) Pop out those kids. You’re getting so old. But what’s the rush, my darling? Why don’t you step into the timeless zone? What is that, you ask? Trust me, it’s not science fiction. Sarah, Abraham’s wife, lived in the timeless zone until God’s purpose for her was fulfilled. And like I told one of my good friends, we are daughters of Sarah. With long life God satisfies you. There’s nothing moody and gloomy in that promise.

So expand the corners of your tent. Spread out. And live life with no limits. It’s all about what you believe. Pray about that “outrageous” request today. The same Joshua was fighting a battle and looked up at the sun and said, Sun, stand still. I’ve still got a war to win. And the sun stood still. So ask, because your heavenly Father is always giving.

Stay high on grace!