The God Dare

“We’ve got it all wrong. We’re searching for the very thing  pursuing us. We search, we dig, we look. We fret and question, wonder and worry and all along it’s right in front of us, right under our nose.

Can you smell the fragrance? It’s enticing in it’s beauty, frightening and overwhelming our senses with power and possibility. Drawing us, reminding us of something we used to know and believe but have forgotten somewhere along the way. It’s all around us, pregnant in every day, infusing each moment small and large, ordinary and awesome.

It’s God’s ‘yes’. His cosmic smile and nod of the head, his holy high-five, beckoning us to believe. Begging us to take Him at His word. To once and for all let go of fear, worry, pride and strife and just say yes to His yes.

It dots the vast landscape of scripture. You can hear it whispering from the mountain top in the still, small voice as it drops like lead into the hearts of biblical heroes. Moses heard it in the desert, Abraham on a starry night, Joseph in the depths of a dream, it beckoned to Esther in the palace of a king and through an angel, to Mary in Nazareth.

David heard it as he faced a giant, Rahab caught it in the voice of two spies, Ruth detected it in the sad voice of her mother-in-law and John the Baptist heard it on death row.

 The God Dare.

It’s the knowing, deep down inside, that you’re on this planet for a reason. You’re not just taking up space but God has a plan in mind just for you. In fact, He chose you for it before the foundation of the world. He designed you very specifically for this time and this place and He’s perfectly equipped you to accomplish His purpose in the earth. It’s for everyone. It’s for you.

Oh I know, if you’re anything like me, you don’t feel equipped at all. Do you think I felt equipped to write a book, let alone call myself a writer? But God does and when we step out into the deep, step off the ledge, bungee jump into the future, take God at His word, He’s there to catch us and make sure we don’t crash.

 God Dare Secret:

  If He calls you to it, He knows you can accomplish it. Not in your strength but in His. You will have to step out and reach out for the help you need but He will provide every ingredient at the proper time. 

The dare to go further than you believe is possible and to take God at His word. To believe and obey. To say yes to God even when the yes will cost you.

The flip side of the coin, the ugly and deformed twin of The God Dare is the devil’s dare. The dare to doubt, to fear, to lust, envy and greed. To be dissatisfied with life and with God. Self-pity, pride, depression and anger are some of the uglier manifestations.

Adam and Eve took the first devil’s dare. They listened as the serpent hissed, “Has God really said?” and doubt planted it’s lying seeds into Eve’s and then Adam’s heart. For a bowl of lentil stew, Esau took the devil’s dare and traded a life of the first born’s blessing to satisfy a momentary hunger. Lot’s wife was so besotted by her culture she simply couldn’t let go and defying the angel’s command, she took the devil’s dare and looked back and instantly turned to salt. Ananias and Sapphira, Pontius Pilate, Saul, Solomon, all fell prey to the devil’s dare with disastrous consequences. They toppled like bowling pins to his most commonly used tool, “Has God really said???”

 God Dare Secret:

   Most people won’t take The God Dare. It’s too uncomfortable and in the Western world, we value comfort above all so most will ignore the still, small voice. 

Here’s the truth about The God Dare. It lies just outside your comfort zone. It changes the world and it will change you. It will cause you to believe a little deeper, hope a little longer, love a little fiercer. You will bleed, sweat and cry through the process but you’ll come out on the other side stronger and able to take on whatever God has next. It will shift your paradigm and cause you to see yourself differently. It will cost you, dearly.

But it will allow you to call yourself by another name. 

God Dare Secret:

 The best thing about The God Dare is this: it draws you closer to God Himself because His strength will be the only strength getting you through.

It’s all there! Everything you need, each ingredient thoughtfully laid out, waiting to be mixed in a holy vessel that’s been fearfully and wonderfully made. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Moses heard it, so did Abraham. Ruth and Rahab did too. And the Wise men. Paul and Mary heard it and changed the world. It still calls today. All He asks in return, one thing really, is that you take Him at His word. That you believe.  

Can you hear it? Whispering in the summer wind, roaring in the waterfall, lingering in the raindrops, summoning your soul in it’s still, small voice. Daring you to believe. Imagine. Fight. Dream. Follow. Say yes.

Will you take The God Dare?”

What’s God daring you to do in this season? I’d love to pray for you!