Ask Big, Live Large
When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!
SUMMARY: Are you willing to ask big things of God? God loves it when his children trust him so much that they are willing to step way out in faith to possess promises that are way beyond what is humanly possible. God is honored when we pray bigly. But if you ask big things of God, get ready to be big enough for the britches God gives you. God wants to give in abundance, but he will never waste kingdom resources on the unprepared. When he gives you something, he expects you to fill it out; to steward it in a way that brings glory to him. So be willing to ask big and live large.
God Speaks—I Obey // Joshua 19:1 & 9
The tribe of Simeon’s homeland was surrounded by Judah’s territory…. Their allocation of land came from part of what had been given to Judah because Judah’s territory was too large for them. So, the tribe of Simeon received an allocation within the territory of Judah.
Are you willing to ask big things of God? I hope so! God loves it when his children trust him so much that they dare to step out in faith beyond the ordinary to possess promises that are way beyond what is humanly possible to attain. Here’s the deal:
God is honored when we pray bigly.
So are you ready to live large! If you ask big things of God, get ready to be big enough for the britches that God’s generosity will require of you. You see, God is a God of abundance, and he gives in abundance. Now, not to worry, I am not promoting some sort of prosperity gospel heresy. Simply yet biblically put, divine abundance means that God gives us more than enough. But while he gives abundantly, he never wastes kingdom resources on those unprepared to steward his generosity so that it brings maximum glory to himself. When he gives you something, he expects you to fill it out. In other words, he wants you to leverage every ounce of his provision to the fullest so that he can give you more. If you waste it, settle for less than maximum use, or misuse what he provides, he will not release more to you. In fact, there is an indication in scripture (see Matthew 25:24-30) that if we don’t steward his gifts wisely and industriously, he will even take away what he has given and give it to someone who will develop it in faith.
In the case of the land allotment to the tribes of Judah and Simeon, the visionary folks of Judah had an industrious spirit about them. So, God gave them much more land than they needed at the time. Yet because they had not taken full advantage of it, God took a portion of it and assigned it to the Simeonites. Judah, however, was not content to shrink into their land. They got fired up and later asked the warriors of Simeon to join forces with them to take the land that was not yet under their occupation:
The men of Judah said to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon, “Join with us to fight against the Canaanites living in the territory allotted to us. Then we will help you conquer your territory.” So, the men of Simeon went with Judah…. Then Judah joined with Simeon to fight against the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they completely destroyed the town. So, the town was named Hormah. In addition, Judah captured the towns of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, along with their surrounding territories. (Judges 1:3,17)
I like that about these two tribes. God’s blessing was more than they could handle, but they were unwilling to shrink into what they could handle. That is not the case with many believers today: they get overwhelmed by abundance, as unbelievable as that sounds, and for a variety of reasons, fritter away their opportunity to fully occupy their blessings. They are like the intimidated steward in Matthew 25, fearful that he might lose what he was given. But in the case of Judah and Simeon, they got smart: they joined forces and helped each other take the land. By strong faith and hard work, they expanded into their blessings.
That is the kind of believer I want to be. I want to not be afraid to ask bigly of my Father. And I want to be unafraid to leverage the large opportunity he gives in response to my asking, but maximize what he has placed in my hands. I want to do that to show him how much I trust him. I want to do that so that he can trust me with more. I want to do that so that others will be provoked to godly discontent in settling for anything less than God’s generous abundance.
“God will not do what we are to do. He will do what we can’t, but he will never do what we won’t.”
Dr. Ray Noah
Among the many things I want people who know me to say in reflection of my life, I hope they will say, “He asked big, but he lived large for God.” I want to leave nothing on the table when my life is over. I want none of heaven’s treasures appointed for me while I am on earth to remain in heaven. I want it all for the glory of God alone.
How about you? Make a commitment from this day forward to be a person who asks big and lives large.
Choose You This Day:
Ask your Heavenly Father for some big, hairy, audacious provisions today. Choose to ask big, then live large.
Today expect something good to happen to you no matter what occurred yesterday. Realize the past no longer holds you captive. It can only continue to hurt you if you hold on to it. Let the past go. A simply abundant world awaits.
Sarah Ban Breathnach