Practice Possibility and Change Atmospheres

If God is in you, what's possible?

It’s easy to distance ourselves from the heroic acts we read about in scripture. After all, it was a long time ago and in a very different context than we find ourselves living today. The ancients didn’t have to-do lists, and 9-to-5 jobs, and Instagram.

Moses rescued a nation.

David won a nation.

Esther saved a nation.

In comparison, my life seems rather mundane. Yet, I still feel overwhelmed, lacking the time to make any real difference in this world. My schedule seems full, but my days seem empty.

Most days I want to save the world, but I also want a nap. So instead of shifting cultures and changing nations, I spend my days just trying to shift my thoughts and change my attitude. In this mode, it’s tempting to read scripture as if it were mere poetry instead literal truth.
But for those who say yes to Jesus the bible isn’t just a story, it’s our history. The heroic people we read about are not storybook characters. These heroes are our ancestors. Their heroic acts are not isolated events with no application for our lives today. No, instead, this kind of heroic behavior runs in our family (Ephesians 1:5).

One day when I found myself caught again in the tension of world-saving and schedule-filling, I asked God for help. I wasn’t sure exactly what I needed. More margin? More capacity? A vacation?
God was so kind in His response. I sensed Him saying, “Lindsay, you are overwhelmed because you are not in the habit of practicing possibility with a God who can do the impossible.”

James 1:5 instructs us to ask for wisdom whenever we lack it, so instead of distancing myself even further because of confusion, I simply asked for God to help me understand what He meant.

Two scriptures sprang into my heart:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17 (NIV)
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Romans 8:11 (NIV)

Where God is there is freedom. Since God is in you, wherever you go there is freedom.

• At your next board meeting, consider this: If God is in you, and you are in that meeting then God is in that meeting. If God is in that meeting, what is possible? 

• At your next family dinner: If God is in you, and you are in that family then God is in your family. If God is in your family, what is possible? 

• At your next doctor appointment (whether you are the medical professional giving the treatment or the patient receiving it): If God is you, and you are in that appointment then God is in that appointment. If God is in that appointment, what is possible? 


Jesus said in Matthew 16:19, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
God is eager to partner with you in taking ground, and often, it’s the ground right beneath your feet. We are empowered to change any atmosphere we walk into.

When we practice possibility, it changes the way we see our every day lives. We’re no longer waiting around for some extraordinary mission because we realize we’re living the mission every single day. We serve a God who loves to leverage the mundane to do the miraculous.
Maybe your family didn’t just happen to you, maybe you happened to your family. It’s possible God wants to partner with you in changing generational dysfunction.

Maybe you’re not stuck in an industry because it’s what you got your degree in or because you lack a degree, maybe the industry is stuck with you. It’s possible God wants to partner with you in bringing innovational shifts in law, or medicine, or education, or technology, or commerce.
Maybe your socioeconomic status isn’t a result of your own brilliant success or your lack of resources. It’s possible God wants to partner with you in bringing freedom to those locked in their ivory towers or locked in poverty.
When we practice possibility, we anchor ourselves in hope. Hope is the expectation of God’s goodness in every area of our lives. When we see ourselves and our world through the lens of hope, we cannot help but change the atmospheres around us.
Today practice possibility by asking:
• If God is inside of me, what’s possible?

• If resources are unlimited, what’s possible?

• If my expectation is only on God’s goodness, what’s possible?

If every believer committed themselves to unlocking kingdom realities into the atmospheres they walk into, nations will shift, cultures will change, and people will be saved.

**This blog post partners well with a sermon Lindsay recently preached at Northlands, please check it out here!