JANUARY 2022
Are You Available For The Lord To Perform Exploits Through You?
There are certain things that the Lord tells us that He loves to do, and one of them is performing exploits. Our God is a God of the miraculous, it is simply in His nature. However, He chooses to have companionship as He does this. He is therefore always looking out for those on whose behalf, He will perform exploits.
But let's back up a little and ask what exploits are. Exploit as a verb, means to selfishly take advantage of someone, in order to profit from them. However as a noun, the word means a notable or heroic accomplishment, a great and daring feat.
The Bible is full of stories of many men and women, through whom God performed exploits. We have stories of people like Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:36-39) and Gideon and 300 people (Judges 7:19-23). We also remember the Apostles, the early Christians in the book of Acts and so many others.
This great promise God made to perform exploits is found in Daniel 11:32. It reads "And such as do wickedly against the covenant, shall he corrupt by flatteries. But, the people that know their God shall be strong and do exploits." Psalm 66:5 also says, "come and witness God's exploits! His acts on behalf of people are marvellous".
So why would God, you may wonder, like to perform exploits through us. I reckon it is because He is a God who specialises in the impossible and the miraculous. We all know our human limitations, so it's obvious to the world when God is working through us. It is obvious when what we achieve can only be God working through us. What we must remember is that He also desires that we give His glory to Him, and He does not share it with anyone.
Above all else, our Heavenly Father loves to co-labour with His children. In performing exploits through us, He gets us involved so we yield ourselves, and align with His purposes. This is why He also set up prayer to also involve co-labouring. We pray using His Name and He answers, setting things in motion.
In order to co-labour with Him, we must keep in mind our availability to God and location. You see, exploits don't happen in the comfort zone. Sometimes we get so used to staying with the familiar and comfortable, that we limit our suitability for God to perform exploits through us. Exploits don't happen in the boat. Remember, it was only Peter who Jesus could perform the exploit of walking on water with. Peter stepped out of the comfort of the boat, making Himself available to be used by Jesus. There needs to be a hunger for the miraculous as well as a faith and expectancy that isn't found in the comfort zone.
In Daniel 11:32b, we are made to understand that knowing God, being strong and doing exploits all go together. So how can you and I know God more, in order to be strengthened for His exploits?
If we look at these individually, knowing God is completely different from knowing about God, His nature and His attributes. It's possible to read about Jesus, but never meet or experience Him. In other words, know Him personally. The sense in which we know God to begin with, as our loving Father, is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We then enter into a relationship, with Jesus, and that develops and matures, depending on how much time we spend in communion and fellowship with Him (Genesis 5:22-24). It's like every other relationship, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.
The most important part of relationship is communication. So we get to know Him more intimately as we listen to Him, and as we speak to Him. Also, as we wait in His Presence and as we love on Him, we press into His heart for more of Him, and lean into what He is asking us to do. Our knowing God will strengthen us, especially spiritually. We will be trusting and thereby able to overcome challenges and temptations. We shall work more in power because of the confidence in Him that we enter into.
If we diligently seek God, we will know Him in a deeper, and more intimate way. We will find that God will reveal Himself to us, and He will be found by you and by me (Jeremiah 29:13-14). He will strengthen us to prepare us as we yield to Him. It is a great idea to invite the Holy Spirit. "Come Holy Spirit, fill me up with Your Presence." He will come and we can enjoy His Presence and from that assured positioning, step out into His purposes. Indeed, we must learn to yield ourselves to God, so that His Spirit can accomplish mighty exploits through us.
God Bless You,
Mina Bajomo
