"How Far"

"At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away." (Psalms 104:7)
Did not get that memo? Have you not heard? Well, it might be about time to listen. I heard a message from Pastor Jeff yesterday morning, and I was waiting for him to say something, but he totally took me into a whole new area of understanding. It has to do with an unmovable rock; that rock that God has told us to push, yet the harder we push, the more frustrated we become, and still that rock does not move. Till one day, we simply throw up our hands, and we cry out to God, saying, "I can't move this stupid rock, why would you ask me to do such a thing?" You know where I thought he was going, because I have shared on this before, about not asking God for help moving the rock; but that's not where he went, he took it to a whole new level. God never said for us to move the rock, only to push the rock; it is only God who can move the rock! We do not move mountains, it is God who will move the mountain, we are only able to pray that God will do it. But, we are still called upon to push! That was the thing that got me, how Jeff spoke about what God said back to the man who cried out for help, because it was all about training. It reminds me of Paul's use of training to win a race; yes, it's all about winning, but this race is not against one another; this race is about being fit enough to win! If and when you are called to sprint, can you be up for the challenge, will be able to endure, will you run like the wind? God simply told the man, "I did not ask you to move the rock, I asked you to push the rock." "Why would you ask me to push something that I could not move?" the man would say. God's reply, "Did not your arms get stronger? Did not your determination become greater? Keep pushing the rock!" Is there a rock in your life that God has told you to push? If it is something that you can do on your own, then it is not big enough to be that rock. God only moves the mountains, those things that we have no power to do on our own. Maybe it is that sin, the one that you have no power to stop yourself from doing? You know that is a lie, don't you? God has already given you the power to overcome, so that's not the rock God needs to move. Most likely the rock is not something that you can touch or see; but it is something that only God can deal with...
"As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's cross to the other side of the lake." So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, "Teacher, don't you care that we are going to drown?" When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Silence! Be still!" Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" The disciples were absolutely terrified. "Who is this man?" they asked each other. "Even the wind and the waves obey him!""
(Mark 4:35-41) NLT