Up to the Challenge?

by Steve Trullinger

Abba trains his sons to take charge on his behalf as they mature!

As we become more like Jesus during our maturation as sons of God [see Romans 8:29], we are entrusted with increasing responsibility to do (or “carry out”) his will upon the earth, as it is in heaven [Matthew 6:10].

That seems like a good thing, and indeed it is! But sometimes we may “balk” at exercising our authority, perhaps because we are not sure of the “right” thing to do in a situation, or we may not realize that Abba expects us to “do the miracle” as Christ would, or that we should issue a “command” on behalf of our Father.

This may well be one of the toughest challenges in our growth as sons of God, namely to stop asking the Father to do everything while we “spectate,” and instead to “take charge” as sons imbued with his authority and power for the situation. Abba can and does give us perfect guidance, however, as he helps us to be bold and grow in confidence in the process of becoming like Christ.

There are several instances in my own growth process when Abba interrupted my prayer for help (or a complaint about a situation) by asking,

“What are you going to do about it, son?”

Those times are precious to me because not only did Abba challenge me each time to do something about the situation at hand, but he also trusted me to take charge in his stead! All I needed was a little “prompting” when I was somehow “balking” (in his opinion). The empowerment I felt when he asked me such a question was thrilling to me as a fledgling miracle-worker. I am not alone in having that as part of my “job description” — if you are a believer, you have it, too! Jesus said as much in John 14:12:

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing,

and they will do even greater things than these, …” [John 14:12]

Just one example will serve to help encourage you, I think. Many years ago, I was preaching at an open-air Freedom Festival in western Kenya when thick black clouds rolled in and began to drench the crowd (and I was getting soaked on the platform in my 3-piece suit). Two-thirds of the roughly 3000 people on the field ran for cover under trees or building overhangs nearby, while the 1000 people remaining stood fast to hear the Gospel message while I kept preaching in the downpour. I complained silently to the Father that this rain was preventing many people from paying attention to the Good News, and it just wasn’t right! What’s more, I was worried that I had a microphone in my hand, connected by a wire to the amplifier connected to the generator nearby on the ground. I was basically a human “lightning rod!” Yikes! I wanted Abba to please stop the rain!

Instead, he asked me a familiar question, “What are you going to do about it, son?” That’s all I needed to hear! I pointed to the sky and shouted out loud, “As a son of God, I command this rain to stop, now!”

Instantly, and I mean instantly, the rain stopped. Not one more drop fell on us, even though some drops were already falling when I issued the command! They disappeared somehow! The collective gasp of astonishment in the crowd of 1000 on the field was unforgettable! I was astonished also, thinking “Wow, that was good timing!” The 2000 people who had fled for cover earlier came running back to the field as fast as they could because of this miracle, and many hundreds surrendered their lives to Christ that afternoon.

I could share many more examples such as this one, involving not only myself, but several of my spiritual sons and daughters. Remember, Jesus said we would do the works he did, and even greater!

Are you up to the challenge?