There is so much that God would do on earth if He had willing partners. All He needs is someone to say, Yes! He would heal. He would multiply food. He would open doors and shower blessing. He would save people in desperate need of being saved.

But the kingdom of God is set up for us to be participants in what He does. He wants to use us, whether we want to be used or not. And if we refuse, or fail to make ourselves available to Him, other people are effected by it.

If we say, “Yes, Lord, use me”, He will. He just needs someone willing to agree with Him. Say yes and watch what happens. Listen to the leading in your heart. He may nudge you to speak to someone. They may have just asked for help, for someone to pray. You have no idea the impact you can have if you are willing to be God’s arms.

Imagine what this world would be like if we all said, Yes! Imagine God moving freely through His people to bless and heal. Imagine having that relationship with Him. Try it. Be used. The more you trust Him, the greater He can work. And remember, He’s doing the work, not you. All you have to do is say yes and keep your eyes open.

Do you remember the story in 2Kings 4 about Elisha telling the widow to fill jars with oil? He didn’t tell her how many jars to collect. He said, Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. He meant a lot! She was wise to collect as many as she could, because God used every single one of them.

What if she collected twice that many? What if she got the idea to use really big containers, barrels? Would God pour into them like the jars she used? I think so. Our God is a God of abundance and generosity. He will never skimp when it comes to blessing us. But He will bless us according to our faith in being blessed.

Can you dream big? I mean really big? God would probably have even bigger plans for you if you’d let Him. Do you think you deserve tremendous blessing? Many people do not. That’s the lie of the enemy to make us feel unworthy of God’s grace.

Once we’ve been redeemed, we are a royal family with a kind and loving Father. When your heart beats with His heartbeat, you want what He wants, and He wants so much more for you than you know. When He says collect as many vessels as you can, think tanker trucks and ocean liners, because there is no limit to God’s grace.

Why are young people leaving the church? It’s not an easy question to answer, but I have my ideas. As parents, we teach our children from the moment we wake up in the morning until we go to bed at night. Everything we do trains them in some way. They watch and listen and understand our reactions without being told. Children can see the difference between a confession of faith on Sunday and what is expressed at home.

Faith that comes from knowledge instead of relationship is not faith at all. Jesus said, My sheep know my voice. If the voice of God is not heard in the home, there is nothing to follow. Children can be entertained anywhere, but what they want is the real thing, just like everyone else. If what they see at home is not the Emmanuel, God with us, they will look for something else to fill that deep need to know Him.

We are called to live in intimacy with God, not worship Him from a distance. He needs to be active in our lives when the washing machine breaks down, when the dog is hit by a car, when bills are past due. Turning to God for help when you need it is what Jesus meant when He said, Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. (Mat 6:25) He knows what you need, but you won’t see His help until you start to trust Him.

Let your children watch you trust God in the hard times. Let them see you put your family in His hands. Then let them see you rejoice in gratitude when the answers come. Show them the reality of God and His amazing love. Once they understand that He is real and active, there’s no reason to leave.

Do you ever think about regrets you have about your life? Everyone one has them, especially parents. Everyone thinks back on decisions that were made and wonders what things would be like if that decision didn’t happen. That’s because we’re human. We’re not made to be perfect or robotic. We are designed to make mistakes. And mistakes aren’t always the end of the world.

God loves us beyond measure. He loves us completely, warts and all. He sees our past and our future and loves us unconditionally. And the destiny that He made for each of us was made with all our mistakes in mind. We haven’t ruined anything. God can redeem our worst decisions.

That should be a very comforting thought. It means that we should not hold onto regrets, because God does not. We need to give them to God and let Him fix what we cannot. If regret still nags you, then confess it to God. Let Him heal that wound and bless you with what He wants to give you. Being human is not a sin. How we respond to our humanity can be. Fear not — that’s a command. Let go of regret. Let go of fear and let God bless and guide you. He loves you enough to see past your mistakes.

Can you believe for the impossible things in your life? It’s easy to trust God when we think we know what He will do. (We usually are wrong.) But when the impossible situation stares us in the face, it’s hard to believe for what you can’t see.

Peter climbed out of the boat onto the water because He could see Jesus standing on the waves. He may not have climbed out otherwise. So you need to set your eyes on what has already be done to give you the faith that you need. Look to the Bible.

Every miracle that Jesus did is a miracle you can stand on. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If He did it then, He can do it now. Maybe you’ve heard stories from missionaries, or others, about miracles happening. Use them to trust God for what you need. The testimonies of God are good for lifting us up and encouraging us.

Your impossible situation is not impossible with God. In fact, it’s easy for Him. Jesus said, According to your faith let it be so. So, the more you believe, the more miracles can happen. And how fun is that!

Paul gives an extraordinary explanation for his ability to live in peace. I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. (Phil 4:11) This is not an area that we are familiar with. We are always pressed to do more, go higher, be better than we are. Should we not? Weeeellll, yes and no. There’s a balance between expectancy and contentment that, like Paul, we have to learn.

Contentment comes with our close relationship with God. When we know Him, when we talk and commune with Him on a daily basis, we know that He has us completely in His hand. We trust Him for the things that pop up that we don’t understand. It’s easy to be content, even when what we have is not what we’d like, because we know that God has our best in mind for us.

If we don’t live closely with God, we don’t have that trust and contentment is elusive. We’re always second guessing ourselves and wondering how to make our lives better. There’s no faith in that. There will never be peace in that.

True peace comes with knowing that God is taking care of us. Rich or poor, He will take care of our needs. To the extent that we trust Him, He will bless us. Learn to trust God and you will learn to be content.

God is not stingy. When He gives, He does it right. You will lack for nothing you need, and more. But the key is that you have to be a giver first. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. (Mat 5:42) Then God will know it’s safe to bless you.

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Luke 6:38)

He uses the same yardstick that you use. Do you need great blessing? Then give generously. It’s not like you’ll run out of anything. God has all the resources that you need. Give to fill the need and let God take care of yours.

And God gives generously — a good measure, not a fake on to rob you, pressed down so more can fit it, running over. He loves to give when He sees your generosity. You can almost see the glint in His eye and hear Him say, “That’s my boy” or “That’s my girl”.

If giving has be difficult for you, give that fear to God. Confess that you’ve been fearful of giving and let Him fill you with faith. Then try it. See if God won’t bless you back so you lose nothing.

How firm is your foundation? When you stop and think about it, there is nothing in this world you can trust. You can be fired or laid off your job. The economy could tank your business. People leave, they move, they change their mind, they die. Pick something that you depend on for stability and trust that is not God and look at how shaky that foundation is.

Jesus called the rich man who sat back after building his barns a fool. But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided? (Luke 12:20)

Build your house on a solid rock. Jesus is the only sure foundation. He will never leave you nor forsake you, but you have to trust Him. God knows that you need to survive. He knows you need to pay bills and get to work. Your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. (Luke 12:30-31)

If you can stop stressing about your life, God can begin to bless you with what you need. Faith is about trusting in what you can’t see. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. (John 10:27) If you belong to God, then listen to Him and follow Him. He will not lead you wrong. You may not understand why He does what He does, but His goal for you is for your best. Trust Him to know more than you do.

The stability of your foundation has to be in God. Nothing else will hold up in the end. Nothing.