After reading from Draw The Circle Devotional for the past 39 days...I thought this daily reading was especially good, therefore I present it for your encouragement:

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From Draw The Circle,

Mark Batterson

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Day 8

One God-Idea

“Speak to the earth, and it will teach you.”  Job 12:8

Around the turn of the twentieth century, the agricultural economy of the South was suffering as the boll weevil devastated cotton crops.  The soil was being depleted of nutrients because farmers planted cotton year in and year out.

Enter George Washington Carver, one of the most brilliant scientific minds of the twentieth century.  Carver introduced the concept of crop rotation and encouraged farmers to plant peanuts instead of cotton.  The rotation of crops revived the soil, but it didn’t revive the economy because there was no market for peanuts.  The abundant peanut crop rotted in warehouses because supply was greater than demand.  When frustrated farmers complained to Carver, he did what he had always done:  he took a long walk and had a long talk with God.

George Washington Carver routinely got up at 4:00 a.m., walked through the woods, and asked God to reveal the mysteries of nature.  Job 12:7-8 was one of the most-circled promises in his Bible.

            “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.”

Carver took that promise at face value.  He literally asked God to reveal the mysteries of nature.  And God answered his prayer.  Carver is famous for discovering more than three hundred uses for the peanut, but the genesis of those revelations was one conversation with God.  In his own inimitable fashion, Carver shared the story behind the story.

            I asked God, “Why did you make the universe, Lord?”

            “Ask for something more in proportion to that little mind of yours,” replied God.

            “Why did you make the earth, Lord?” I asked.

            “Your little mind still wants to know far too much.  Ask for something more in proportion to that little mind of yours,” replied God.

            “Why did you make man, Lord?” I asked.

            “Far too much. Far too much.  Ask again,” replied God.

            “Explain to me why you made plants, Lord,” I asked.

            “Your little mind still wants to know far too much.”

            “The peanut?” I asked meekly.

            “Yes! For your modest proportions, I will grant you the mystery of the peanut.  Take it inside your laboratory and separate it into water, fats, oils, gums, resins, sugars, starches, and amino acids.  Then recombine these under three laws of compatibility, temperature, and pressure.  Then you will know why I made the peanut.

On January 20, 1921, George Washington Carver testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on behalf of the United Peanut Association of America.  The chairman, Joseph Fordney of Michigan, told him he had ten minutes.  An hour and forty minutes later, the committee told Carver he could come back whenever he wanted and take as much time as he needed.  Carver mesmerized the committee by demonstrating a myriad of ingenious uses for the peanut—everything from glue to shaving  cream to soap to insecticide to cosmetics to wood stains to fertilizer to linoleum to Worcestershire sauce.

The next time you shave or put on makeup, the next time you stain the deck or fertilize your garden, the next time you enjoy a good old-fashioned PBJ, remember that all of those things trace back to a man who had a habit of praying at 4:00 a.m.

Those three hundred uses of the peanut were not good ideas; they were God-ideas.  And one God-idea is worth more than a thousand good ideas.

Good ideas are good, but only God-ideas change the course of history.

God-Ideas

Every year, we have an annual these at National Community Church.  It’s not just some catchy phrase that rhymes with the year, like” Learning to Lean in 2013.” It’s the by-product of pressing into God’s presence and discerning what God wants to do in us and through us.  The theme this year is simply this:  Get into God’s presence.

That is the solution to every problem.  That is the answer to every question.

We don’t get a vision from God by going to conferences.  We might get some good ideas, but God-ideas are only revealed in the presence of God.

Everyone needs counseling of some sort at some point in their lives, but our biggest problems are only solved in the presence of God.

Go ahead and do a planning meeting.  After all, failing to plan is planning to fail.  But don’t just brainstorm; praystorm.  The best plans are birthed in the presence of God.

At some point in our lives, the best we can do isn’t good enough.  Our best solutions, ideas, and efforts aren’t good enough.  That’s when we need to hit our knees and trust God to do what only God can do.  After all, prayer is the difference between the best you can do and the best God can do.  And that’s a big difference!

If we hit our knees, the Holy Spirit will do the heavy lifting.  If we hit our knees, the Holy Spirit will reveal things that can only be discovered in the presence of God.  If we hit our knees, the Holy Spirit will give us God-ideas for our ministry, family; business—for our lives.

The Solution to 10,000 Problems

The modern mystic A. W. Tozer believed that a low view of God is the cause of a hundred lesser evils, but a high view of God is the solution to ten thousand temporal problems.  If that’s true, and I believe it is, then your biggest problem isn’t and impending divorce or a doctor’s diagnosis or a failing business.  Please understand, I’m not making light of your relational, financial, or health issues.  I certainly don’t want to minimize the overwhelming challenges you may be facing.  But in order to regain a godly perspective on your problems, you must answer this question: Are my problems bigger than God, or is God bigger than my problems?

Until we come to the conviction that God’s grace and God’s power know no limits, we will draw small prayer circles.  But once we embrace the omnipotence of God, we’ll draw ever-enlarging circles around our God-given, God-sized dreams.

How big is your God?

Is He big enough to heal your marriage or heal your child?  Is He bigger than a positive MRI or a negative evaluation?  Is He bigger than all of those things, then pray like it.

Draw a Circle:  One God-idea is worth more than a thousand good ideas.

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