Part II

I used to enjoy watching Mission Impossible on television to see how that team of experts completed their impossible mission each week. They were very ingenious and did some pretty astounding--and often unbelievable things.

I've found what I call the Missions Impossible of the Bible--the principles and directives that are given to us Christians that seem like impossibilities. But I'm learning through the power of the Spirit of Christ within me, I too can complete my impossible assignments and live a miracle kind of life. The God who has called me to these impossibilities is the same God who empowers me to do what is humanly impossible.

Here are some more missions impossible:

Do Not Be Anxious About Anything

I'm sure you've read this one. Philippians 4:6: "Do not be anxious about anything...." Anxiety, stress and worry are trademarks of our society today, aren't they? Do you know anyone who is not anxious about anything? Surely this is mission impossible. I guess the Apostle Paul never dreamed the world could become as tough and pressurized as it is.

Well, not true. The Apostle Paul endured stress and pressure beyond anything any of us will ever experience. He didn't live in an ivory tower, and yet he exhorts us not to be anxious about anything. Why? Because first of all, it won't do you one bit of good. Tell me one good thing that's ever come from worry and anxiety. You'd think after awhile we'd catch on to the fact that worry destroys us, wouldn't you?

And then we need to understand that when we are anxious about anything, it is a sure sign that we are not trusting God in that particular area. What are you worrying about today? Your children? Then you haven't committed them to God, have you? Or maybe you did but you went and took them back again. Are you worried about money? Lots of people are. It shows you haven't learned to trust God in that area. Maybe you're worried about being single forever. The fact that you worry about it shows you don't really believe God is in control of that area of your life; you don't trust him to do good things for you.

Sometimes anxiety is a direct result of disobedience. If there is some area where you are refusing to do what God wants you to do, you have reason to worry and you'll find anxiety will plague you. But when our lives are in tune with Jesus and we're walking daily with him, we should not be anxious about anything, and that includes whatever it is you're worried about right now.

Thankfully Paul gives us the way to make this a reality, for the verse goes on to say we should take all those worries to God in prayer, and then, after telling him our needs, we end with thanksgiving. Thankfulness is an important key to this mission impossible.

So, we go to Jesus, dump our cares on him because he cares for us, tell him all the details about whatever it is that's worrying us, and then start thanking him. I promise you, if you'll do that today, you'll start to learn how to live without anxiety. An impossible life, made possible for us who know Jesus, because he lives within us. What a way to live.

Consider Others Better Than Yourself

Here's another mission impossible: Philippians 2:3: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." This used to bother me greatly because I couldn't see how in the world I could ever feel other people were better or more important than I was. I might talk that way, or try to act that way, but in my heart how could I ever feel that way?

Well, that's where I made my mistake. Paul didn't say I should feel like other people are better or more important than I am. I finally understood that considering others to be more important or better than me simply was an attitude I needed to pray into my life. So, I started praying daily "Lord, whoever I deal with today, help me to think of them as more important than me; help me to put their interests ahead of my own."

Now, let me tell you what started to happen. People began to look differently to me, as I would remember throughout my day, "Mary, they have problems and concerns that are just as important to them as yours are to you."

And when I'd find myself irritated with someone, the Holy Spirit would remind me of my prayer and I would recognize I was thinking I was more important than they were. They had no right to upset me or interfere with my schedule since I was Number 1. Then, with that conviction from within, I'd remember, "Think of their interests as more important than your own." And that changed thinking would immediately change my attitude and my actions.

Does it work every time? Yes, every time I remember to pray it into my life and am willing to relinquish my rights to the Holy Spirit. Do I practice it all the time without fail? Unfortunately not, but I'm learning. As long as I pray it in, it will become more and more of a reality. When I don't do that, I lose the focus.

I am motivated to do it because I love Jesus and want to please him, not because all those people make me want to do it. If we wait for people to motivate us or appreciate what we do, this will always be mission impossible.

I encourage you to add this to your prayer list everyday: "Lord, help me to think of others as more important than me today, to put their interests ahead of my own." If you really mean it, you'll see this mission impossible start to become a reality in your life.

Humble Yourself

Peter wrote in his first epistle: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time" (1 Peter 5:6). Another mission impossible.

Do you find you have a natural inclination to want to humble yourself? It conjures images of making a fool out of yourself; of walking around with your head hung low, trying to look humble; of refusing to accept a compliment, saying instead, "Oh, no, I'm nothing; please don't say those nice things because I'm trying to be humble." I couldn't believe that was what God wanted me to do, but how else could I humble myself?

Well, I started praying that God would show me how to humble myself, and he did. Humbling myself meant, for one thing, not talking about me every time I had an opportunity. That's harder to do than walking around with a humble look on your face. I mean, I like to talk about me, don't you? When I find myself with a new group of people, my first impulse is to tell them about me, my status, my radio program, the books I've written--whatever I can get in edgewise that will make them think I'm really somebody.

And God started convicting me of that. You see, I could do that very subtly, so it didn't even look like I was bragging. It was a shock to see how often I was talking about myself to make others think highly of me. So, my first challenge in learning to humble myself was to engage others in talking about themselves, to become truly interested in what they had to say, and not to make opportunities to talk about myself.

One of my board members is a real example of this to me. He's a very prominent lawyer in New York, but I knew him for six months before he ever told me, and then only because I prodded and asked questions. He has many credentials and accomplishments to his credit, but he never seems to think about talking about them. Instead, he's always interested in what you're doing, how he can help you, and I mean genuinely interested. I often pray God will make me more like my friend, Steve.

Do you want to learn this mission impossible of humbling yourself? Then all day long watch out for those times when you start to talk about yourself, and just shut up. Ask others questions about themselves; pray for strength to do it; bite your tongue if you have to. But it's one sure way we can humble ourselves, and when we do, Jesus says we will be lifted up.

Have you ever been with someone who played one-upsmanship with you? It's a tendency we all have, I think. One-upsmanship is that ingenious art of having a better story to tell than the one you've just heard, of putting other people down by outdoing them in some way or another. If we want to humble ourselves, we'll get rid of this tendency to try to outdo the other person.

There are many ways we can, on a daily basis, humble ourselves. And believe me, it's very smart to do just that. Why? Because then God won't have to humble us. You see, God cannot tolerate pride in us; he hates it. It's the root of all the other sins. So, if we don't work at getting rid of it, God will have to do it. It's much easier on us to do it ourselves. When God has to humble us, it will be much more painful. He gives us time to do it ourselves and when we won't, he has to take whatever drastic measures are necessary.

Ask God to teach you how to humble yourself. It will happen in many little ways, as the Holy Spirit makes you more and more sensitive to those areas where you promote yourself. Then, God will be able to exalt you and use you, because you are humble. Not a mission impossible, if you will make it a daily prayer in your life.

Now, once again here are our missions impossible:

1. Be kind to everyone.

2. Give thanks in all circumstances.

3. Do everything without complaining.

4. Pray continually.

5. Love your enemies.

6. Do not be anxious about anything.

7. Consider others more important than yourself.

8. Humble yourself.

That's quite a list, isn't it? Can we truly expect ourselves to live that way? These are indeed missions impossible. They are beyond our ability to do humanly speaking, there's no doubt about it. But you see, that's what's so great about being a Christian. We receive power through the Holy Spirit to live miraculous lives. Not many of us do that, do we? Why not?

Because we don't get serious about it. That's one reason. And then, these impossible missions have to be prayed into our lives on a daily basis. We have to commit ourselves to them day in and day out, and pray God will make us sensitive to these areas.

But, dear friends, if more of us would do that, we would live the kind of life that would cause others to see that Jesus makes a difference. We would live question-generating lives, giving us opportunities to share our faith, and most importantly, bringing glory and honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I encourage you to dedicate yourself to live out these missions impossible everyday.

© 2001 Mary's newest book, Soaring on High, Spiritual Insights from the Life of an Eagle, can be ordered by calling 1-800-292-1218 or online at www.christianworkingwoman.org . Added 8/19/01