Expect Great Things From God; Attempt Great Things For God
William Cary lived by the motto: “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”
At the time, the church had (with few exceptions) ignored the Great Commission for a thousand years. In 1792, Cary had the nerve to publish a book challenging Christians to own up to their long-neglected responsibilities to boldly take the gospel to all nations. He was vigorously opposed by fellow pastors when he tried to establish the first overseas missionary agency. At one meeting a leader snapped at him: “Young man, sit down. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he’ll do it without consulting you or me.”
When Cary and his wife left everything to live in India, people thought he was absolutely insane. When they buried three children there and his wife really did lose her sanity, you can imagine what people said. He pressed on. His team founded 26 churches and 126 schools in India (total enrollment of 10,000 students), translated scripture into 44 languages, produced grammars and dictionaries still used today, organized India’s first medical mission, savings bank, seminary, girls’ school and vernacular newspaper. To this day, Carey is highly revered throughout India. Just as the United States was issuing the Elvis Presley postage stamp, India was issuing one with William Carey. His bold faith was richly rewarded.
The Old Testament book of Daniel contains the story of three teenagers who also received a great reward for their boldness. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had been taken captive by the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar and dragged in chains to Babylon. When the King built a gold idol and commanded everyone to bow down and worship it, they flatly refused even though they knew the punishment was death. When the King demanded an explanation, they boldly declared, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).
That’s bold faith! Bold because they knew God was able to demonstrate power; faith because even if God chose not to deliver them from death, they would remain unshaken. Like William Carey, they expected great things from God, therefore they were empowered to attempt great things for God.
Their faith was rewarded with what many Bible scholars believe is a visitation from Jesus. Others believe it was an angel. We’re told only that there was a fourth man in the fire with them, who looked like “a son of the gods” (Daniel 3:25). In either case, they were not only unbowed, they were “unbound and unharmed” (Daniel 3:25). The only thing they lost in the fire was their chains!
Afterward, they were even granted promotions from the King! Of course, none of those miracles would have happened if Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego decided to go along to get along; if they chose to do what we’re often tempted to do: blend in with the crowd. God promises that when we walk through the fire, he will be with us, but we have to be willing to go through the fire rather than running from it. Unfortunately, many of us miss the opportunity to experience God walking with us—and miss out on promotions—because we are unwilling to exercise that kind of bold faith.
The boldest person I have met personally is Hector Torres, founder of Hispanic International Ministries. His name is well-known throughout Latin America. The first time I heard him preach, he ended his message by offering to pray for anyone who needed ‘a word from God’. Hundreds of people went forward…including me. Hector was praying for people on the front row then suddenly pressed through the crowd to where I was standing about five rows back. He put his hand on my head—and prayed exactly what I needed to hear. He identified the precise issue that had compelled me to go forward. Since he prayed right into a microphone, all of my friends heard, were blown away, and came rushing over to hold me as I collapsed into a bundle of tears.
Hector had never met me, had no idea who I was and I did not speak one word to him. He simply walked over and prayed boldly. Lest you’re thinking, well, he probably prayed lots of things and accidentally got it right. Wrong. He prayed four brief sentences: he covered the situation, God’s perspective concerning it, God’s proposed solution and his promise that he would bring about the solution. Prayer done. Then he went on and prayed for the next person with equal boldness.
Is it right to pray with such boldness? Jesus said it is. In response to the disciple’s request that he teach them how to pray, he told the story of the persistent friend and noted “I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs” (Luke 11:8).
When I learned that Hector would again be preaching and praying for people, I mentioned it to my teenage daughter. When I picked her up from school on the appointed day (a Friday), the first words out of her mouth weren’t “Hi, mom” they were “Are we going to hear Hector tonight?”
We sure did. And my normally-very-shy daughter was first up for prayer. Again, Hector prayed with great boldness and, without speaking to my daughter first or asking her anything at all, he precisely identified her needs and God’s answer to them. He specifically mentioned that God had appointed her to be an Esther.
This story gets better.
When we returned to our seats, Leah was sobbing and a few of my friends rallied around her. One prayed—mentioning Esther. Leah then decided to go forward to another woman who was helping Hector pray for people. I know this woman well and consider her a mighty prayer warrior. This woman, too, mentioned Esther in her prayer. Hector had not preached about Esther that evening – not even remotely. Nor had either of these women overheard his prayer for Leah. Instead, all three were boldly praying the words God placed in their mouths.
The next morning, we found Leah curled up in the prayer room with a Bible on her lap – opened to the book of Esther. Hector’s boldness – and the boldness of the other prayer warriors – made a profound impact on her. Leah began to pray that God would give her an opportunity to travel in ministry with Hector. This was a bold request. But guess what? Just five days from now, Leah will be traveling with Hector Torres and his wife to his home in Bogota, Colombia. She’ll have opportunity to visit their seven feeding centers where hundreds of children receive a meal each day and will be part of their annual Christmas outreach.
I never, ever could have dreamed, when I picked up my teenager from school that afternoon, that someday she would be flying to South America to partner in ministry with Hector Torres himself! It just goes to show that you have no idea what can happen when you Expect Great Things From God and Attempt Great Things For God.
What is the boldest step of faith you’ve ever taken? What bold step is God calling you to make right now? What great things are you expecting from God? What great things are you attempting for God? I’d love to hear your story.
Helping you maximize your life…
for maximum Kingdom impact!
Blessings,
Donna
