After God had sent the angel of death to take the firstborn of every living thing in Egypt, God provided a pillar of light at night and a pillar of cloud by day to lead them away from the place where they had been captive.  When Pharaoh changed his mind and went after them with a great army.  Despite the fact that God saved them by parting the Red Sea, the first time they had another major trial-a lack of food., they immediately blamed Moses.  When Moses prayed, God provided manna, which was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey.  When the people saw it, they called it manna, which means “what?,” since they had no clue what it was. (Exodus: 16:3-32, 17)

How many times has God provided an answer for a particular need where people have responded with the question, “what”?  When  a valiant soldier in Aram’s army came down with leprosy, he was told of the miracles that Elisha was performing and he went to find him. So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house.  But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.”  But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me!  Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage. (II Kings 5:12)  This captains’s initial reaction was, “What? you’ve got to be kidding.”  Yet when he finally followed Elisha’s instructions, he was healed.

When a blind man approached Jesus to heal him of blindness,  He spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes.  He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing! (John 9:6-7)  I can just imagine the disciples initial reaction to applying mud made from saliva and dirt.  What?  How is this supposed to cure his blindness.  Yet he was healed!

Jesus was friends with Lazarus, who lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha.  This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair.  Her brother, Lazarus, was sick.  So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”  But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”  So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus,  he stayed where he was for the next two days.  Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”  (John 11:17)  When Jesus finally got to Bethany, Lazarus had been dead and buried for four days-to the point where his body had begun to stink from decomposition.  The family and friends of Lazarus were upset because Jesus had taken so long to get to Bethany.  Their reaction was “What?” If you had gotten here earlier, You could have healed him.  Yet when Jesus called for Lazarus to come forth from the grave, he walked out alive.

What has God asked you to do that makes no sense to you?  A few years ago, a group of friends got together to write a musical for our church.  None of us had any experience in writing, but God gave the words to two of us.  None of us had any experience, but when God told me the music was my task, my initial reaction was, “What? I have no ability or experience to do this”  Yet the grace of God allowed me to finish this task.  To it was no fluke, He allowed me to write the music for yet another one.

What is your, “What?”?  Whatever it is, know that if it truly is of God, He will give the ability to accomplish it.  No matter how foolish or impossible it may seem.  Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you.  Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.  God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.  (I Corinthians 1:26-28)

So, step out of your comfort zone,  and let God accomplish great things through you.