Category: March Through the Madness: Gems from Genesis

The United Negro College Fund has a very familiar slogan: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”  A mouth is, too, yet our mouths often work overtime in the waste industry.  Just think of the conversations you’ve had recently, and I’m sure you’ll agree.  Complaining about the economy and the associated side effects seems to be the discussion of choice.  Sharing our concerns and frustrations can be harmful, for our words are a bridge to our destiny.  So, where are we headed if we’re on the complaint freeway?

God did not design our mouths haphazardly; rather, He infused them with power to change things.  Adam had so much power in his mouth that the animals became (and still are) what he called them.  Long story short, he used his mouth to make something out of nothing!  We can speak and change things, too!  We can call prosperity, health, happiness, and peace out of debt, sickness, sorrow, and turmoil.

Your mouth is a funnel for God’s power.  Instead of complaining about your plight, start confessing the potential therein.  Death and life are in the power of your tongue, so use your mouth wisely.  Speak life!

Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”  “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”  Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! (Ezekiel 37:3-4, New Living Translation)

If life had a reset button, would you press it?  Are you enduring a trial so overwhelming that you want to move to another planet and start over?  If so, I feel your pain.  But, what if your desires lie outside of God’s will?  What if your plight is exactly where God wants you to be?  What if God has you in the holding cell of hurt, just to show you that He can perform miracles in your mess?

The wonderful thing about God is that no situation is beyond His power.  You can look at the creation story and realize that nothing is too hard for God.  Notice that God didn’t destroy and rebuild earth; rather, He started with the mess He had.  He created light, the sun and moon, stars, land, animals, and people from the same earth that was formless and empty.  If God can do that, then what is a dead end job, debt, a foreclosed home, or a rocky relationship to Him?  Absolutely nothing!

This recharge is a reminder that God isn’t just the God of new beginnings; He’s also the God of renovations!  Your situation is just the stage for His next performance.  So, see the potential for God to work in your problems, and wait patiently until He does.

Is anything too hard for the Lord? (Genesis 18:14, New Living Translation)

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but we’re living in an era when positive thoughts abound.  For example, people will tell you they’re having a great day, even though they may be living through hell.  Somehow, we’ve embraced the notion that admitting our problems is a sign of weakness or a lack of faith.  Contrary to popular opinion, however, there are times when admitting our problems is a good idea.  A person who has a watermelon-sized tumor can deny that it exists, but he or she would be wise to let a physician know about the discovery.

I’ve read the verses cited above numerous times, but recently, I saw them in a new light.  God selected Moses as the transcriber of the creation events, and He could have relayed a picture-perfect story.  He could have began the story with the exhibitions of His power, but, for some reason, He didn’t.  In fact, He made sure that Moses inserted one detail before describing the amazing creative events: “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters”  (i.e,  the earth was inhabitable and in desperate need of the Lord’s touch)  If God, the incomparable and supreme being, can admit that the world wasn’t pristine initially, then surely, we can confess our problems.

The first step in marching through the madness is to admit that there’s madness in your life.  To admit you have issues doesn’t mean you’re defeated or weak; rather, your confession authorizes God to stop hovering over, and start intervening in, your situation.  Admit where you are, so God can help you get where you’re going.