Priscilla Shirer - God is Able

God is Able, Digital Edition

Based on Print Edition

Copyright 2013 by Priscilla Shirer

All Rights Reserved

Printed in the United States of America

978-1-4336-8191-2

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: 248.843

Subject Heading: GOD \ ANXIETY \ WOMEN

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible ( nasb ), the Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977; used by permission.

Also used: The Holy Bible, New International Version ( niv ), copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society.

Also used: The New Living Translation ( nlt ), copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Also used: The Message , the New Testament in Contemporary English, 1993 by Eugene H. Peterson, published by NavPress, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Also used: English Standard Version ( esv ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Also used: Holman Christian Standard Bible ( hcsb ), Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Dedication

I was only a teenager when a young preacher stood behind the pulpit in my church and taught a message on Ephesians 3:2021. I was riveted. Every word was like a match striking a fire in the depths of my soula fire that has never dwindled in the two decades since.

This book is dedicated to that preacher.

Richard Allen Farmer, thank you for being a faithful student of Gods Word, declarer of Gods truth, and servant to the body of Christ. You are a trustworthy friend and loving pastor to Jerry and me, and... we are grateful.

What is it?

Come on, you can tell me.

I know theres something specific that brought you to this book or brought this book to you.

Because everybodys got something .

No matter who you are, however old or young, theres always at least one thing. That thing in your life you cant seem toyou know, escape or fix or solve. Its just... its...

(Sigh.)

Its always there. Just when you think youve maybe figured out a little piece of ithow you might be able to handle it better, manage it, work around it, or get out ahead of itit always seems to end up beating you, or at least keeping you awake in the wee hours of the night.

Youve tried. (Oh, Lord, how youve tried.) Youve prayed. Youve asked. Youve begged. Youve fretted. Youve calculated. Youve eaten better. Youve exercised more.

Youve tried being gentler, then firmer. Louder, then quieter. More assertive, then more submissive. Youve admitted where you went wrong and refused to gloat when you were right. You feel like youve done everything you can think of. And honestly, youre starting to seriously wonder now if God can do this, if He can do... It .

Youd still like to think He can. And if you were to spout all your churchy rhetoric, itd sure sound like you believe He can. But deep downdown where your soul pulses with doubt and uneasinessyou wonder about that circumstance, that life issue, that dilemma youre facing. God may be able to keep the stars in the sky, the earth tilted on its axis, and the heavens hung in glorious array. But can He do this ?

It?

What is it? Its okay. Be honest. Name it.

Might make it easier on you, I guess, if I go first, huh? So Ill start... cause, you know, Ive got a few Its myself.

Surprised? You shouldnt be.

Here, hold my purse while I climb down from whatever pedestal you may have placed me on so we can talk eye to eye.

I know how it happens: you see a speaker on stage, you listen to a teacher on the radio, you read the words of an author, and somehow you think theyve got it all together. Ive done the same thing. Catapulted that mere human to superhuman status, as if someone so obviously godly couldnt possibly struggle with the same problems the rest of us face. Theyre just a little too special for life to treat them that way.

But Ive found its just not true. Nobody is exempt from these things. Like you, Ive seen my share of situations that have been so difficult or have caught me so off guard, theyve carved out a deep foothold where doubt could settle in. And yet God loves me far too muchsame as He loves youto keep me from confronting them. Because if you and I didnt turn to face these things, wed never come face to face with Him. And our Gods not having any of that.

So, yes, Ill start:

• Fifteen years ago, I didnt believe He could heal my broken heart.
• Twelve years ago, I wasnt certain Hed be able to save my marriage.
• Ten years ago, I wondered if He was able to let me safely bear a child.
• Eight years ago, I questioned if He could ease a heavy cloak of guilt and regret I was harboring.
• Five years ago, I had only a thin shred of hope that He could salvage a cherished friendship.
• Four years ago, I didnt see any way we could purchase a key piece of property we needed.
• Three years ago, I had little faith He could heal my son of some troubling emotional issues.
• Two years ago, I doubted He could free me from a paralyzing sense of fear and anxiety.
• And even as recently as last year, I seriously questioned if I was suited for the ministry God had entrusted to me. In fact, I questioned it enough that in my darkest moments, I considered throwing in the towel.

And listen, thats just the past fifteen years. Ill spare you my whole life story in hopes you wont check me off your reading list.

(All right, Im finished now. You can hand me back my purse.)

The fact is, I have never had much trouble believing in the power of God when it was theoretical, when all the action my faith required of me was saying Amen during a sermon. As long as the problem was somebody elses, I could believe in Gods big-time ability with a big old sense of gusto.

Like when I was a kid, for instance. I remember testimony service at my childhood church like it was yesterday. A couple of Sunday evenings a month, folks would come forward to declare the work of God in their lives. No doubt one of the ladies would be sporting her coordinating suit and fancy church hat (with a feather or some other dcor hanging off of it) as she stood in front of the congregation and filled the microphone with all the things God had been up to. Everything from the foreclosure notice on her house, the repossession order for her car, her unfaithful husband, or her rebellious child being miraculously transformed by Gods miracle-working power. As children, my siblings and I would sit in the pews during this stirring part of the service, listening to the ladys voice grow deeper and more forceful with each new revelation. That feather on top of her velvet hat would dance a little jig, which would always capture our attention. We tried to listenpromise we didbut sometimes we couldnt help but nudge each other and giggle. We were hoping beyond hope that her hator at least the bouncy feather on itwould come flying off her head into the front pew, just to make things really exciting. But Mommy wasnt having any of that. Shed tell us to quiet down and sit up straightand listen. So we did. Then we applauded with the rest of the congregation in celebration of what God could do... and was actually doing.

Yup, faith seemed easier then.