God’s Capacity [ability, capability, power] vs Our Expectations
Today I want to talk about what our expectations are when we pray.
What do we expect that God will do for us in our life?
How many, many, times we put limits of what God can do and what He will do by our expectations. Whatever the reasons, we do not see that we truly serve a mighty and awesome God.
We serve the God who created everything.
We serve the God that ransomed us from sin by the blood of His own Son.
We by faith accept that He has given us salvation and we believe that we are saved from all our sins.
We believe that we have eternal life in Christ.
But do we believe that our God can truly do exceeding, abundantly above all we ask or think? [ Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Eph 3:20]
Do we sincerely believe that there is nothing too hard for our God? [ Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? Jer 32:27]
First, I think that the problem lies with our perception of our God. For some reason we tend to create a box that we design, and we start to think this is the capacity of our God. We forget that He is limitless in power and might. We neglect to recall that His understanding far exceeds anything we could possibly conceive. So, we limit what we ask or think into the confines of the box that we have designed.
We need a renewed mindset. We need to rethink how we perceive our God. Do we see Him “high and lifted up”? Like Isaiah saw Him in the temple?
Isa 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isa 6:2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
Do we see that Heaven is His throne and the earth is His footstool?
Isa 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
I think that all too often we neglect to remember these things and think of God in the terms of human capabilities. Or we think that He is so high and holy. Why should He be concerned about the things that concern me? And thus, we limit our expectations of what our God can and will do.
Let’s look at a few folks in the Bible that had a similar problem. First let us look at Abraham and Sarah. They were both quite elderly and God promised them a child. From the box of our expectation we most likely would say, “ there is no way this is gonna happen. They are too old. It is not possible.” But God is true to His word. He keeps His promises.
Gen 21:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as He had spoken.
Gen 21:2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
What about the widow at Zarephath? She had a little bit of oil and a little bit of flour and that was all that she had left. There was a great famine in the land. All she could see was that she and her son were gonna starve to death. She was out gathering sticks to make a fire and bake the last small cakes of bread and then starve to death. [1Kings 17:12] God sent a Prophet of God to her and though all looked hopeless. She was obedient to what God said and God kept His word and provided for them until He sent rain on the land again.
1Ki 17:15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
1Ki 17:16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke by Elijah.
I’m talking about our limiting expectations of what our God can and will do. How many times do we look at our situations and circumstances and say “it is hopeless” because we do not see how very great our God truly is?
What is it in our life that we see as greater than our God?
Are we seeing circumstances that are humanly impossible to overcome?
Are we looking at our life situations and seeing only an insignificant supply for our need?
Do we see problems and troubles that are huge giants in our way?
If this is the case, then we need again to be reminded of just who our God is that we serve!!!
Our God is an awesome God. He reigns over all on His throne in Heaven. Heaven is His throne, and the earth is His footstool. Think about that a moment. He is totally in control of everything. He rules over all creation. He rules over Heaven and He rules over the earth, the sky, the universe, everything. Isa_66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
We begin to concentrate on our situation, it becomes overwhelming to us. We know that we, in and of ourselves, cannot fix it, or change it. We think, “ we cannot give ourselves a job. We cannot heal ourselves of any disease. We cannot fix the brokenness in our family. It is all too big for us.
So, we extend this thought process to our God. All our problems must be bigger than Him. Or He is too busy to deal with my problems. Or I am not significant enough for God to listen to my plea.
What about King Saul and the army of Israel who went out to fight the Philistines? They saw that the Philistines had a champion who was a giant. He was so big and strong they felt that no one could stand against him. They were hiding in their tents. [1Sam. 17]
Lets take a look at the situation in Israel.
1Sa 17:1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongs to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Eph-es-dam-mim.
1Sa 17:2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
1Sa 17:3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
1Sa 17:4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. [9 Ft 9 In]
1Sa 17:5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. [about 157 lbs ]
1Sa 17:6 And he had shin guards of brass upon his legs, and a lance of brass between his shoulders.
1Sa 17:7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
This guy was huge. He was roughly 9 feet tall. His weapons weight about 200 lbs and he was able to carry and use these weapons. He was extremely big and strong. Even though King Saul was said to be “head and shoulders” above his fellow Israelites, in comparison to Goliath he was small. All the men in Sauls army had only earthy expectations. They felt and thought that no one could fight this guy and live. They believed that this guy would destroy anyone who fought him, and Israel would become slaves to the Philistines.
This is a prime example of human expectations not counting on the Greatness of our God. All they could see was the problem and it was huge.
1Sa 17:32 And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
1Sa 17:36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
1Sa 17:37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, HE will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
1Sa 17:38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
1Sa 17:39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it.
Here again we see God’s capacity vs Our Expectations. King Saul was still looking at the situation through the eyes of the flesh. He was not looking at the Mighty God of Israel. If David thought he could go fight this guy, then let him try. So, he gave David his armor which did not fit David. And David had never trained in the armor. His eyes were still looking at the situation through earthly eyes. It all still looked impossible to King Saul and the men of his army.
How many times do we look with our earthly eyes at our situations and circumstances and think we need earthly armor in order to fight the battle. When what we need is for our eyes to see the greatness of our God. That He is the one who fights our battles. It is only through Him we can have the victory.
I have heard so many say in times of great difficulty, I am just going to give up. I just can’t pray anymore. This is just too much. When in reality they are saying there is no hope, this is too big for God to handle.
And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
1Sa 17:40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
1Sa 17:41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
1Sa 17:42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
1Sa 17:43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou come to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
1Sa 17:44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
1Sa 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
1Sa 17:46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
1Sa 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.
1Sa 17:48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
1Sa 17:49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
1Sa 17:50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him……..
David saw the Capacity of God. He was not looking at the situation or the circumstance. He was not looking at the size of the giant or how strong he was. David saw a man who was defying God. Someone who was coming against the army of God’s people. David knew that His God was greater and he went forward into the battle armed with faith in His God.
What are the giants in our lives. Are we like King Saul and only seeing how big they are in comparison to us?
Are we thinking there is no way to win this battle?
Are we dwelling on the hopelessness of the situation?
We trust our God for the greatest miracle, Salvation and eternal life. But we can’t trust Him to take care of us and get us through this life until He calls us home to our reward with Him. We believe that there is eternal life and we will some day go and be forever with the Lord. But what size box are we putting our God in. How vast is the eternal state that we are envisioning?
Perhaps it is time to look again at some of the things the scriptures tell us about our God. Perhaps we need to be awakened again to the truths that our God is greater, mightier, stronger than anything we could possibly face in this life.
Will we place a child like faith in Him?
Will we believe that He is God and He is totally in Control of everything?
Psa 24:1 A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
Psa 24:2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
Psa 50:10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
Psa 50:11 I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
Psa 50:12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
Mat 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Mat 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
David knew something that we need to get deep down inside of us.
Everything that is, belongs to God.
He created everything.
He is so great and so mighty that He created the Cosmos out of nothing. From nothingness by His word everything that is came into being.
He owns everything. All the cattle, all the birds, every mineral, every tree, every blade of grass.
Yet we think He cannot take care of us or He cannot heal us, or He cannot handle our situations and circumstances.
Let’s look at another person in the scripture who looked at his situation rather than the capability of God:
2Ki 5:1 Now Naaman, [nah-am-awn’] captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
2Ki 5:2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.
2Ki 5:3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
2Ki 5:4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
2Ki 5:9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
2Ki 5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
2Ki 5:11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
2Ki 5:12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
2Ki 5:13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
2Ki 5:14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
Here we have the story of a great military man. He was well known and had a good reputation. But with all his military might and all his reputation, he was not able to avoid contacting Leprosy. This is a very devastating disease. It destroys the body. It is a very contagious disease. The Israelites were told if they had leprosy they could not be in the camp of the people. They had to stay outside the camp and they had to call out “unclean” when anyone came near them. This was a desperate situation for Naaman. Not only was his career at stake, his very life was at stake.
When he is told about a prophet in Israel that could heal him, he gets letters from his king and proceeds to go and seek this man out and be healed.
But when he finally gets to the prophet’s home, the prophet simply sends out a servant to tell him to go and wash 7 times in the Jordan river. This was very displeasing to him. He felt slighted and put off. He becomes very angry.
Why should he go and wash in the nasty Jordan river. Afterall, he was a great and important man. The prophet could have at least come out and laid hands on him and healed him. So, he is going to be ruled by his anger and his expectations and go back home in just as desperate state as he had come. He was going to go back home with Leprosy, unchanged.
Do we ever find ourselves in a situation where we have asked God for something and then He sends and answer and ask us to do something we don’t like or want to do, so we get puffed up and angry and decide not to do what God has said. Will we just stew in our own juices and stay the way we are? Do we ever have expectations that God should do something this way or use that person to help us, etc. and we are displeased because God has another plan? Do our expectations ever come into conflict with God’s Capacity?
You see, it did not diminish God’s capacity to heal Naaman by having him go wash in the Jordan river. God could have simply spoken and Naaman would have been healed. Elisha could have went out and prayed for him and he would have been healed. It was always God’s Capacity to heal him. But his expectations got in the way.
At last his servant told him that had Elisha told him to do something great, he would have just done it without complaint, but because Elisha had to him to go down to Jordan and wash 7 times, he felt that was beneath him. Didn’t he want to be healed? What did he have to lose by washing in the Jordan. If he were healed that was what he desired. It shouldn’t matter how God chose to perform it.
So, he relents of his anger and goes to the Jordon and washes. At first there was no change, the first 6 times he comes up out of the water, he still has leprosy. But he obeys the command and goes down again the 7th time. What he sees when he comes up this time is life changing. He has skin like a baby. He is whole. He has been healed. He is no longer a leper.
How many times do we let our expectations get in the way? How many times do we get angry when God chooses to perform His miracle another way than the way we had planned or wanted Him to do it?
You see, it is not God’s capacity that is in question.
It is not can He?
The question is will we believe that He is more than able to do abundantly more than we can ever imagine? And will we accept His method of doing it?
Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Let’s look at somethings God said about Himself:
Job 38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Job 38:5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
Job 38:6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Job 38:8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
Job 38:9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
Job 38:10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
Job 38:11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
God reminded Job of how great He is by reminding Job that God was the Almighty One. He reminded Job that Job was not there in the beginning when God spoke everything into existence. He reminded Job that Job did not have a clue how everything went together. How God had put it all so perfectly in place and established it and it still remains.
Just recently we have seen great storms in California. We have seen the massive waves beating against the shores in many places in Southern California. Yet we have Not Seen those waters be able to cover the land and remain. No matter how hard they beat against the shore. No matter how high they may reach into the air, they always have to go back out to sea.
God had said in the beginning, this is your boundary.
This far you can come, but NO Further. And to this day, they MUST return out to the sea.
Let us remember that we serve a great and mighty God.
John_16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Jesus told us that in this world we would face tribulation [From G2346; thlip’-sis, pressure: – afflicted, (-tion), anguish, burdened, persecution, trouble]. But He did not stop there. He told us to be of good cheer because He had OVERCOME the world.
He has [From G3529; nik-ah’-o – to subdue – conquer, prevail, get the victory.] He has conquered. He has prevailed against, He has gotten the Victory over the world. He is our awesome mighty God, and we can know that He will prevail, He will conquer, He will get the victory over any and all situations and circumstances in our lives. We just have to look beyond our earthly expectations and look to the Capacity of God.
Did you know that our Milky Way Galaxy is 80,000 light years across. A light year is how far light can travel in a year. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second,or 31,556,952 seconds times 186,000 miles. [5,869,593,072,000 miles 5.8 B] Can you even begin to imagine that vast distance. I don’t think we can envision the distance of one light year let alone 80,000 of them. Our God created all the galaxies. Our galaxy has over 100 Billion stars. Our human minds cannot even conceive of one billion stars. Yet God says, He calls all the stars by name.
Psa 147:4 He tells the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
The Milky Way is only one of billions of galaxies in the Cosmos. So literally the stars are innumerable. And yet God says only five words regarding His creating all these countless stars.
Gen 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night:
he made the stars also.
Oh, but I know, our problem, our circumstance, our situation is too great for our God. Because our human eyes can only see within the box that we have designed and therefore surely, God is not able, or He just can’t be bothered, or we are just not worthy enough for Him to handle whatever we are facing.
The problem is not God’s Capacity rather it is Our Expectations. If we will only look to our God we will know beyond doubt that our God is greater than anything we might face. But our expectations are still looking through the lens of earthy eyes. We are only thinking in human terms. It is impossible with man. Therefore, we cannot perceive that this is a very small thing for our great and mighty God.
Luk 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Luk 18:27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
It is up to you and me to decide whether we will continue to look at all our problems and needs through our human eyes and think it is impossible. Or will we choose to look with the eyes of faith at our Awesome, Mighty God with whom nothing is impossible. Will we see only what is in front of us or will we look beyond the Billions of Stars and the Millions of Galaxies and see the one who created them all and know that there is nothing impossible for Him?
Will we look at God’s Capacity which is boundless or our own Expectations of only earthly, limited ability?