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Observation

Angels foretell of miracles. Zechariah’s miracle, he and his elderly wife will receive the impossible that they have asked God for, a son. Mary is told of a miracle birth also, but not one she has been seeking. The two responses contrast each other. Zechariah, “How do you expect me to believe this?” Mary “I accept whatever he has for me. May everything you have told me come to pass.” Posture in the kingdom of God is important.

 

“Not one promise from God is empty of power, for nothing is impossible with God!” No empty promises, nothing impossible, BUT not all that God desires come to pass. The God who can do everything invites us to posture ourselves to receive the fulfilment of His promises. In the above cases, both come to pass, but so often in life, the promises of God are not connected to His power to fulfil them as we do not posture ourselves for their fulfilment. My posture is the conduit between promise and power. Like Zechariah, I often hear the promise of God for my life and then look at my circumstances and say “how is this possible.” I posture my trust in the evidence of my circumstances and interpret what is possible for God based not on what He says, or His character, or His faithfulness in the past, but on what my circumstances say. (Old bodies don’t procreate). I posture myself in a way that stops the promise of God from connecting with His power, to become my reality.

 

We must understand that God is not in control. His power to do all things is often submitted to my choice to allow all that is promised from becoming mine. If you don’t want it – He doesn’t force it. That’s love. At least Zechariah in his unbelieving posture left the door ajar and asked for a sign. If I can’t posture myself with Mary, “May everything you have told me come to pass;” then may I at least posture myself with Zechariah; “What sign can you give me to prove this will happen?” There is no emptiness of power in every promise of God, there is only His love waiting for our posture of release.

 

Now note, it’s the promises of God, not the wanting of me, that God assures His power will fulfil. We take the truth that “nothing is impossible for God” and we add ‘according to my will.” We say if God is good then surely He would do…..! The question is has He promised it? We often want His power to change our circumstances when the reality is that His promises are to change us in our circumstances. The complexity, interconnectedness and free will of man and angels; means that God is not the shaper of all our circumstances. It’s clear all throughout scripture that God is not and does not get His way in the intimacy of every circumstance on the planet. His all power does not mean He always gets His way – to be so would be to destroy love. So don’t ask him to shape circumstances and expect that your interpretation of circumstances is final and should be delivered by God. Instead, call on His promises to shape you in your circumstances so that your posture will see His power released.

Application

I will posture myself to see the power of God released in my life to fulfill His promises to me and through me. I will have a Mary posture to life. I will not be disappointed when God’s love won’t manipulate circumstances to play out according to my unintelligent design. I will allow the complexity of the universe to sit outside my understanding and control. But I will not see His promised power inherent in His promises to lay dormant to me, my family and the world I interact with. I will accept the responsibility of my posture to join the promises of Heaven with the power of Heaven, to see Heaven invade my earth.

Response

What a place of privilege love always offers. Love offers and waits. No manipulation, no earning, just the posture of love that gives everything and awaits the accepting posture of receiving. Thank you for the amazing promises for the life you extravagantly make available to me. Thank you for your amazing power to release in my life the fullness of all your promises to me. Thank you for the invitation to see you shape my life through your intimate presence. I live from a blessed promise, my response is – “May everything you have told me come to pass.”

 

Meditation

Do I posture myself to see the powerful promises of God released in the circumstances of my life?

Do I have a Mary posture to the promises of God?

JOURNEY DEEPER