(This Blog Post in a response to one essay question for school for the book Gods Generals by Robert Liardon.)
I actually feel like I gained several
insights while reading God’s Generals (Why They Succeeded and Why some Failed)
by Roberts Liardon. I must say that this is a book that I will read again and it was
very hard to put it down. I absolutely love reading about great men and woman
of God in history. It always makes me want to pursue God and the calling on my
life and to press in to see the “more” that God has for me.
Growing up my father used to say “God
hits some pretty good licks, with crooked sticks”. What this means is that God
can use people who are not perfect, but are just yielded to Him. Remember, the
apostle Peter denied Jesus in his greatest time of need. Jesus repaid that
betrayal by establishing Peter as the foundation of the New Testament church.
It is always His grace and mercy that moves us to do things that are beyond our
own natural ability. I think those He uses in extraordinary ways are typically
marked with a desperation and hunger for God to move. They also seem to have an
innate passion and love for God developed in their life. There are other times
when life or the enemy has placed them in circumstances that make them look to
God for supernatural breakthrough. Sometimes, God can just choose people in His
sovereignty because He chooses to do so. Yes, we have freewill, but just go and ask
the apostle Paul about His experience with a supernatural God that blinded him
of the road to Damascus. God is not a tame lion (as C.S. Lewis said) He is still
a sovereign God.
The first lesson I learned from this
book is that almost all of these mighty men and woman really knew the promise
of God in scripture. They believed the word of God that He still desires to
heal and work supernaturally. They took
a hold of a promise from God and held on to it until they saw it released into the
natural. I have good news for you. The God of the New Testament is still a supernatural
God. Salvation is a spiritual supernatural event and transaction. It is the
same with miracles and signs & wonders. Most of
us believe God is a supernatural God, but not all of us are “comfortable” with
how supernatural He still is. When my wife and I went to India in 2007 and prayed
for a girl who was deaf and mute... God healed her. She heard and spoke in front
of a crowd of about a fifty people. We heard the gasp that went through the crowd
around us as she spoke and we knew that God is still doing His stuff today on
earth. In 1 Peter verse 4 it states that “he (God) has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may
participate in the divine nature”. God’s nature is to restore and heal. Before
Jesus was a minister he was a carpenter. His job was to make something new out
of something that was yet unformed or seen. He would also repair things that
were broken. When Jesus went into public ministry He did the same things. We
are called to live as Jesus did as his representatives here on earth.
The second lesson I learned from this
book is something the author pointed out several times. We need to identify and
operate in the gifting that God has placed upon us and discern the season that
God has us in. Many of these woman and men of God had amazing gifting and supernatural
ability on their life but when they tried to venture out of that arena it did
not go well for them. Some of these folk’s lives ended in dishonor because they
strayed so far from the original calling and mission. Alexander Dowie tried to
build a Christian city called Zion which ended in financial scandal. Many believe
his true calling and anointing was for the city of Chicago. William Brahman was
used mightily of God, but his life ended in disgrace teaching things that were
contrary to the truth of the Word of God. Brahman had a prophetic calling but
he was not a teacher. When he insisted on being a teacher, even though others
warned him, his teaching ended in serious doctrinal heresy. I personally believe
that God can gift us with different things as our live changes. It is vital
that we understand what God is saying to us and discern what season we are in.
If you are called to be a worshiper it may not work out too well if you are
convinced you are a teacher. Grace is released through us as we walk in our
anointed calling.
The last lesson I learned in this book
ties in closely with the second lesson. A lot of times God will put strategic
relationships in our lives to help us navigate the road God has us on.
Sometimes Gods wisdom for us can look like a friend or ministry partner in our
life. Others see things in us and know things that we need to keep us balanced
and on the right path. In the book of Proverbs wisdom is marked by being
teachable, correctable, and having many advisors. We need to be willing to hear
God speak to us through others. I have friends in my life right now that have
walked with God for many years and know the Bible much better than I do. We are
made for relationship and not be an island. We need others to help guide us
into truth and hold up a mirror to our lives and help us see our faults. This will
keep us on the right track and help us be spiritually healthy. We need the each
other to walk in wholeness. When someone is gifted by a supernatural gifting
(and the supernatural is not too common in this day and age) we tend to get
enamored by their gifting. The scripture is clear that we are to judge a tree
by its fruit. Just because someone has a supernatural calling and gifting on
their life doesn’t mean that God endorses everything they say and do. Remember,
the supernatural is released by God’s grace and not our own works. Yes, we can position
and equip ourselves to see supernatural breakthrough with more consistency, but
it is still by Gods grace alone. I love
His Grace…. His healing, delivering, restoring, and supernatural grace.
This is a great book and I cannot
recommend it more highly. It does not shy away from the amazing events and miracles
or the ugly truth and controversy in some of these men and woman’s life. If I
keep it real, my own walk with God has not been so pretty. I had a remarkable
salvation experience and was used by God in ministry. I then turned my back and
got myself wrapped up in substance abuse and addiction. In His grace he has restored
me and still has the same calling on my life. My own life story would not be a
clean and pretty book, but I think it would show just how much mercy and grace
my Jesus has had on me. He does not show favoritism, and he can show you the
same kind of mercy and grace that he had on all these mighty woman and men of
God. We should all be inspired to be used of God to see His supernatural reality
invade our natural reality. It brings Him honor and glory. I love what Randy
Clark says: “Lord, let my life be a coin in your pocket to spend as You will”. These mighty men and woman of God let Him spend their lives and I desire to walk in the same things. Amen.
