Let God open your mind
In today’s podcast, I talked about how much I enjoyed playing the card game “Uno” with the family over the weekend. It was lots of fun!
Another game that is a family staple in the Hobbs household is “Taboo.” Most often, we play this game during the holidays and family gatherings. In case you’ve never played “Taboo,” here’s a short description, though I may not have all the rules just right. You get a card with a word on it, and you must give a series of clues to your team to help them guess what word is on your card. But there is also a list of words on your card that you cannot use as a clue. That’s what makes “Taboo” tricky, because the taboo words, deemed off limits, are the exact words you would ordinarily say to describe the main word. In a nutshell, the game pretty much forces you to explore alternative ways of conveying meaning. And since it’s so hard to avoid saying what your brain is programmed to say, it is almost inevitable that you’ll slip and say a taboo word at least a few times.
Being forced to do things in a way that differs from what you’re accustomed to is fun in a family game. But, and that’s a big but, it doesn’t feel quite as fun in real life! However, to stretch our faith, God upsets our norms and forces us down an entirely different path than we expected to go. Trusting Him, which is the only way to obtain all the blessings and benefits He has for you, requires openness and flexibility.
In Mark 7:31-37, a man was brought to Jesus who could not hear and could barely speak. Jesus put His fingers in the man’s ears, spit on His fingers, then touched the man’s tongue, looked up to the sky, and with a deep sigh said to the man, “Ephphatha!”
In Aramaic, it means “Be opened!”
When Jesus spoke that command, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosed, and he could hear and speak. Every blockage was removed, and the man was free.
Sometimes, I believe Jesus needs to speak Ephphatha! over our mind, and tell our mind to be opened. I say that because we often get stuck feeling like things should happen a certain way. When they don’t, we get disappointed. But I’ve learned over the years that God doesn’t do things the way we expect Him to; He does things the way He wants to do them. He is sovereign after all.
“God’s unconventional approach is going to lead to the biggest breakthrough of your life. Be flexible. Don’t box God in. He will exceed your expectations and do something far better than you thought or asked for. But you must let Him do it His way!”
One day, during prayer time, God began speaking to me. He said something to me that I think will help you as it did me, so I’ll share it. But first, as you know, I have been fighting through the daily mental and emotional challenges caused by last year’s mini stroke, seizures, and the brain trauma that resulted from them. And I honestly didn’t expect the recovery process to be this difficult. I assumed that the unpleasant side effects would vanish faster. But they didn’t, and they haven’t. I have had to learn how to adjust, and trust God through an intense battle with anxiety, panic attacks and cognitive limitations.
But one day, while communing with God, He let me know that His plans were not like mine, and I needed to let go of my own ideas of how recovery should go and what life should be like, and just surrender to His will completely.
During that time of communication with the Lord, these are the words He said to me exactly, and I wrote them down:
Don’t let your faith die on the altar of your expectations; let your expectations die on the altar of your faith. Sacrifice your will for My will, because My will is greater. It’s better than yours. My wisdom surpasses your own. And I didn’t do it the way you wanted Me to do it, because I want to do something greater.
Those words wrecked me in the presence of the Lord.
When God said that to me, I let go, and I wept. I surrendered my will in exchange for His. I said yes to the Lord. As difficult as it was to let go of my own ideas, I knew that God was transforming my thinking in that moment. Jesus spoke Ephphatha! over my mind, and something broke in me. I surrendered, and a burden lifted.
Today, God wants your mind to be opened. See things His way. Surrender your way, and say yes to His, just as I did. I’ll reiterate what God told me: Don’t let your faith die on the altar of your expectations; let your expectations die on the altar of your faith. Believe that God’s way is better. His plan – even when you don’t understand it – is superior.
In the words that Jesus said to God in the Garden of Gethsemane, according to Luke 22:42, which is what I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
As your drink down the contents of your cup, may your mind be opened, may your heart surrender, and may your spirit awaken to the will of God for your life. Know that His way is better, and there are so many good things God has in store for you when you say yes.
Now, let’s pray.
God, I don’t always understand Your ways, but I trust Your will. Please help me not to get stuck in my own way of doing things but to be open to Your plan which is always better than mine. By faith, I surrender and say yes to You. And I believe that You will do exceedingly, abundantly above all I could ever ask or think, according to Your power that is working in me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you desire prayer, please allow me, along with my intercessory prayer team, to stand in faith with you for breakthrough. We would be so honored. We have seen God work over and over again. There is power in agreement. Click here to request prayer now.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
