HE calmed the wind and sea.  He sent demons into a herd of pigs and set a demonized man completely FREE (Luke 8:26-39).  A woman with an incurable blood disease TOUCHED but the hem of His garment and in an INSTANT her bleeding stopped, as tangible power left Him (Luke 8:43-48).  Jesus simply SPOKE the Word and Jairus’ dead daughter was called back to LIFE (Luke 8:41-42, 49-56)!

All impossible — but God!  

You jealously want what others have so you begin to see yourself as better than others. You scheme with envy and harm[a] others to selfishly obtain what you crave—that’s why you quarrel and fight. And all the time you don’t obtain what you want because you won’t ask God for it! 3 And if you ask, you won’t receive it for you’re asking with corrupt motives,[b] seeking only to fulfill your own selfish desires.  James 4:2-3 TPT™ 

We somehow feel we RISK in asking, but in reality we risk far more by not asking. We have not because we ask not!

How easily is it to forget this truth? Some of the things that we desire the most are some of the very things that we have stopped asking and believing for. Can you relate to that? Is there a dream that you let die because you thought it was taking too long to happen? Is there something that was really important to you, but that you stopped praying about?

Remember, what you pray reflects what you believe about God. Meaning, if you pray big bold prayers, it’s because you have had a revelation that you have a big God, but if you pray tiny, teeny prayers, it’s probably because you don’t realize who Father is and what he is capable of blessing you with. But not praying at all? Well you can’t expect to get anything if you don’t even ask.  

-Caroline, “You Have Not Because You Ask Not”, In Due Time 

Let’s be a people who are not moved by man but MOVED by the Word of God!  Let’s PRAY BIG and expect great things!  Our God is MORE than able!

He KNEW Who He Was

As I sat in Luke 8 this week – all I could see was evidence upon evidence of His power and majesty! I was overcome with the reality that Jesus still had to choose to walk in His identity and authority. The POWER that came was a result of KNOWING who He was and walking out in the authority of that knowledge. 

He was FULLY God and yet FULLY human. This kind of reality is more than my human mind will ever be able to fully comprehend. And yet, Jesus lived and breathed and walked with this FULL assurance!  Yes, HE was the SON OF GOD (Luke 1:35, 1 John 5:20, John 3:16), He was God (1 John 5:20, Colossians 1:19, 2:9, John 1:1-14, Hebrews 1:3), and He was human (Philippians 2:6-7, Romans 8:3, Galatians 4:4).

When Jesus stood up on the boat, He COMMANDED authority! The winds and waves had no choice but to obey!

When He stepped onto the shore, the heavens reverberated! The atmosphere shook and shifted, simply because His presence came onto the scene! And a man was set free from a legion of demons, a woman was healed of an incurable, unclean disease, and a child was resurrected from the dead!

Fully God, fully man! Really??? Can this be true?

I think I could read for days and days and still not FULLY comprehend this reality.  But Matt Perman at “Desiring God” helps to shed great light on this truth:

But what exactly do we mean when we say that God the Son became man? We certainly do not mean that he turned into a man in the sense that he stopped being God and started being man. Jesus did not give up any of his divinity in the incarnation, as is evident from the verses we saw earlier. Rather, as one early theologian put it, “Remaining what he was, he became what he was not.” Christ “was not now God minus some elements of his deity, but God plus all that he had made his own by taking manhood to himself.” Thus, Jesus did not give up any of his divine attributes at the incarnation. He remained in full possession of all of them. For if he were to ever give up any of his divine attributes, he would cease being God.   

– Matt Perman, How Can Jesus be God and Man? Desiring God

His divinity was not for one moment set aside.  

He Knew What it Was to be Human

Not only are we shown that Jesus is fully God and fully man, but the Word also says He experienced all temptation that was common to man. 

For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. 16 Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].  Hebrews 4:15-16 AMP

He walked in authority and power, and yet we are offered mercy and grace by the ONE who knew exactly what it was like to be human.  And through this grace, we are extended the invitation to confidently come before the throne, knowing the ONE who is more than able to “strengthen us in our time of weakness” (TPT)! 

Impossibilities do not exist in the vocabulary of God (see more here).  All the promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20)!  As HE spoke to impossible situations (the wind and the waves, the demon possessed man, an incurable disease), He in turn calls us to follow in His footsteps!