God's Domain

I'm reading a great book right now (ok, that indicates I'm only reading one - let's be serious - I'm always reading way too many books at once - I think I have 4 or 5 going right now). But this specific book I'm going to talk about is by Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC. The book is called Wild Goose Chase and it is about passionately pursuing the life God has for us by listening the to promptings of the Holy Spirit.

One of the first concepts he talks about is the concept of being "responsibly irresponsible." This means trusting God enough that when He calls us by his Spirit, we don't fear the worldly implications because we know we are on a heavenly pursuit. Recently I have been battling this exact idea. Where is God providing human wisdom as his provision, and where is God asking me to discount worldly wisdom and trust He has a different plan?

The chapter I am reading right now is called "Eight-Foot Ceilings" about the idea that we has humans tend to view God from our comfortable box. Mark uses the example of the interaction between Abraham and God in Genesis 15:5

He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Read the first part of that verse again. God "took him outside" before he spoke to Abraham. Before God could reveal his powerful message to Abraham, He pulled him from his comfortable tent. Inside the tent, Abraham was in control, it was his domain. Outside the tent, all the area that stretches between the soil and the stars, is God's domain. When God got Abraham outside, He reveled the great blessings He had in store for Abraham, if only Abraham would follow with obedience.

Maybe one of the keys to not becoming the dreaded "suburbia Christian" is to get out of suburbia. If I am comfortable where I am, I am living on my strength and not on God's. When I am living in God's domain, my very existence depends on His blessing and provision. Why don't I go out into God's domain more often? Don't I want to be as Abraham was and have God rain down his blessings on my life? Perhaps I am fearful of knowing how big my life could really be.

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough for it." ~Micah 3:10

Holy cow. Read it again. What if that really did happen? God is almost challenging us to test his heart of giving. The original Hebrew word for "pour out" is ruwq: to make empty; be emptied out

Seriously? Does God really want to empty the blessings of Heaven on my life? The thought is exhilerating and terrifying. When I ask God to open the floodgates of his blessing - am I really prepared for Him to do so?

Maybe chasing the Holy Spirit isn't so much about running in some innane direction. Maybe my first step is simply to allow God to take me out into His domain and start seeing through His eyes. Then I better be ready - because God may just open some floodgates.