STRETCH!!

Yesterday, the Lord said something to me that I didn’t particularly want to hear. I was in the midst of asking/whining about why I had to teach bible study at my church and I felt fully justified. I mean, I haven’t been licensed that long and I teach teenagers not adults. It’s my comfort zone and I feel confident when I am helping them learn something new. I mean, do I look like a teacher? Why do You keep making me do these things…preach, teach? I was perfectly content behind my computer screen doing Rhema…no pressure and no audience. Why me? Why now? And y’all, God let me get all that out and then He said…wait for it…’I’m stretching you.’ Sigh…that’s one of those things you hear pastors and church folks say but you kind of ignore it. But this time it hit home. Stretching me…hmmmmmm…and then He said ‘and it’s not just you’. It made me feel better to not be on this road alone but here’s the question. Are you open to the stretching?

I looked up stretching and let me tell you, I wanted to run and not in praise. I mean run AWAY! One of the definitions was for something soft to be made or be capable of being made longer or wider without tearing or breaking; to draw out or extend to the full length or extent. Folks, you were not meant to stay in your comfort zone. When God said in Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”, He didn’t follow it up with ‘plans for you to stay where you feel comfortable’. As a matter of fact, let’s look at Jeremiah’s call. God said to him “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” (Jer. 1: 5 NLT) And what was Jeremiah’s response? “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” (Jer. 1:6b) And the Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say what I tell you.” (Jer. 1:7) STRETCHING! Jeremiah had no plans to go out and be a prophet, but God had a plan for him before birth. He wouldn’t allow Jeremiah to just stay where he was because He had a work for him to do. What has God been telling you to do that you are too afraid or uncomfortable to act on?

Think about Mary, the mother of Jesus. Did she plan to be an unwed mother of God’s child? She had plans to be a wife to Joseph and do whatever women did in that time. But God saw more in her and literally stretched her capacity. He took someone that would be unknown and made her the mother of our Savior. This was not easy nor was it comfortable. She had to tell her fiancé that she was pregnant by God. Come on now! “Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.” (Matt. 1:19 NLT) This is pretty much what you would expect to happen, right? But the Lord sent an angel to explain everything to him and he did as God commanded. I dare say there is a whole lot of stretching in the story of this couple alone. God required them to do some things that were outside of what they knew to be possible. Joseph had a work to do. God had a plan for him and he had to step outside of what he knew. He had to put aside pride and have a whole lot of trust and faith. He was stretched.

You have a work to do too. You have a purpose and a plan for your life that God is calling you to. He can see the business when all you see is your credit score. He can see the sermon when all you hear is your stutter. He can see the book when all you see is your past English grades. God is requiring you to step beyond the boundaries that you have placed around your life, your goals, and your ministry. How do you know someone is not waiting on the message that you have, the product you have invented or the restaurant that you have envisioned? Don’t be afraid of the stretching. Instead, know that whatever God has for you to do, He has already prepared you for it. In all of these examples, God was right there with an answer to every concern. As I close, let's think back to the definition of stretching. It is taking something soft and making it capable of more without breaking it. You may be uncomfortable right now but you will not break. Nope! You will be more than you ever imagined! God bless…AMEN