That's Preposterous!

 So, I'm lying in bed just reminding myself that I'm supposed to be sleeping, when from out of the murk of my brain God reveals a thought that I've had before, but in a different way altogether.  I often think of things that seem out of this world, and of course with God, everything (literally everything)is out of this particular world, so it's no surprise that what I'm about to disclose will be a bit preposterous too! C'mon, it'll be fun...let's think outside every tiny box our minds insist on keeping us pinned inside of. 

What's the most preposterous story you can think of in the Bible? What details about that particular story drew you to think of THAT story? What about it bugs you to the point that somewhere inside your mind you think it couldn't possibly be true, but God said it was, so you just accept it by faith? For me it may be Noah's insight to build the Ark.  It could NOT have been an easy task. The man was literally living at a time when every thought of man was wicked and in fact, men were trying to come up with new ways to be wicked so that they could out-wicked the next guy!  Here's Noah, a good man, a man God loved and wasn't upset with; he was just trying to make a living and it probably wasn't in the boat-building business, I can almost guarantee you that much.  God told Noah to build the BIGGEST boat ever seen on the face of the Earth because as He put it, it was going to rain (and since it had never actually rained before there must have been a few moments in there where Noah shook his head and maybe even argued a bit with God over the need to put all of his money, time, effort, energy, and future into this boat building especially since where he lived wasn't necessarily near the sea!)  Noah built the Ark.  Noah preached for 125 years while he built the Ark, but NO ONE, not ONE single person came to be saved....NO ONE.  But there he was, building the Ark with his sons and thinking "OK, God said to do it, so yeah, I'm going to do it."

Jonah really didn't have that big of an assignment, not if you compare it to Noah's message from God. God told Jonah to preach to a group of unfit, unworthy, dangerous, often murderous people, but he didn't have to spend 125 years preaching - - he was just commanded to do it ONCE!  The thought of doing this seemed outrageous to Jonah and it seemed outrageous enough that the man believed he could hide from God! Who thinks that? Where on this planet or another planet for that matter, will anyone actually HIDE from God? No! It's not going to happen. Here you go Jonah, go ahead and try to hide, run, see where that gets you -- OH OK, it got you inside the belly of a fish THAT by the way wasn't even in the waters where fish that size typically hung out in the first place! GOD sent the fish at that moment. WHAT MOMENT? The moment Jonah was cast into the sea - - thinking he was dead, God said "NO, you're not getting out of it that easily, first you're gonna sink a bit, stay in the dark for a while, eat left over squid and maybe a little swollen seaweed, then you're going to PREACH TO THE PEOPLE I TOLD YOU TO PREACH TO because I am God, and I don't change. My word doesn't change, my plan doesn't change, you're not going to cause anything about my plan to change, so when you realize that maybe you'll just say YES and we can both get on with MY PLAN!"  Of course, I'm paraphrasing -- and taking great liberties at the same time.  Bottom line: Jonah preached to the people of Ninevah.

What may seem preposterous to you is NOT preposterous to God. His plan is His plan, and He made this plan a long time before He showed you what it was, or how you fit into it. You will not change His plan, you will ONLY be blessed if you follow it -- so hey, here's a thought: DO WHAT YOU ARE TOLD TO DO...He will take care of literally every single tiny detail that you may or may not have imagined. He will clear every path. He will deliver you. He will make it happen. He, not you, will bring it to pass exactly as He intended. It's never been any other way. Think of any story in the Bible where you thought to yourself, "That makes no sense", and then keep reading - - it will eventually make sense. If God decides to use some random bush to set on fire and speak through it -- LISTEN. If God decides to send hundreds of animals to your doorstep to accompany you on the cruise of a lifetime - - feed them. If you find yourself needing to simply speak to someone about something you never thought you had enough knowledge about but God wants you to say it -- open your mouth. He will give you the words.

We will all benefit from the plan God has for each of us. We will all be blessed if we just do what He asks of us - - so why does He have to force it on most of us? What makes us think we know more than God does when we're called upon to do something? Do we think just because we have limits that He has limits? Do we think that since we have lack of experience that He has a lack? Do we think that we are somehow unqualified to do what He's asked us to do? We may very well be, but I know one thing for sure, if He is truly asking He has already made arrangements for the training, the schooling, the learning, and the capacity to perform whatever it is He wants you, me, us to do -- JUST SAY YES! That saying "There are plenty of other fish in the sea" could very well mean that you'll end up inside of one if you argue too much! It's happened before, it can happen again (and if I am part of the plan that God has for you, and you end up in that fish, forcing me to try and pry open the fish's mouth just to pull you out so you can breathe and repent - - I'm going to be really pissed at you for making me swim in deep waters when I didn't really need to.) God is God. He does not change, He will not change and this is a really really good thing. DO what you are told to do. EVEN if it is the most preposterous thing you can imagine -- because the rapture of the Church is even more preposterous when you think about it!