GO BIG OR GO HOME
We have all heard the saying; “go big or go home”. That great desire within us to do the spectacular even within the simple things of life, just the thought that “bigger” is better -has its hook in us. What makes bigger better anyway? Well I would rather have a bigger bank account than a small one at the same time I would rather have small debt versus big debt. So I guess, “go big or go home” cannot be applied in all situations.
There is one area where I would like to encourage all of us to “go big”. We need BIG FAITH. Today I was reading the Bible and I ran across a scripture that just grabbed a hold of me and I had to dig deeper into that word. Isaiah 7:9 (NKJV) says; The head of Ephraim is Samaria, And the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If you will not believe, Surely you shall not be established.” The New Living version says: Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.” Wow, it is up to us to make ourselves firm in the faith. That is easier said than done with arrows being shot at us from every direction. Fears, worries, doubts, deception, and naysayers continually scream in our ears and distract our vision. We must choose to stand regardless of our environmental circumstances; draw a line in the sand and do not relent. The only way you will be able to draw that is to be thoroughly committed to the oracles of the Lord, deepen your relationship with God.
Read the story of Noah in Genesis chapters 6-8. Can you imagine building an ark when it had never rained before and it taking somewhere between 55-100 years to complete the task. All the while naysayers are hurling insults at you….now that is big faith! Now you may be saying well that was back in the Bible days.
Here is a today story that I am sure all of you can relate to. I do not think there is a person in the good USA that has not heard the name Tebow. Tim Tebow’s parents have what I would call big faith; here is the story of Pam Tebow (Tim Tebow’s mother):
In 1985, the family moved to the Philippines, where they lived as missionaries, sharing their Christian faith with the island's natives and building a ministry.
"It wasn't always easy, but it was a wonderful time for our family," Pam said. "We learned a lot - you always learn a lot when you visit a Third World country. You grow in appreciation for everything you have."
As the couple reached out to families across the island, they prayed to expand their own.
"We started praying for Timmy by name, and then we got pregnant so we just felt like God had a special plan for him," she said.
But while their prayers were answered, the pregnancy proved difficult from the beginning.
Just before her pregnancy, Pam fell into a coma after contracting amoebic dysentery, a bacteria transmitted through contaminated drinking water. During her recovery, she received a series of strong medications. And even though she discontinued the regimen when she discovered the pregnancy, doctors told Pam the fetus had been damaged.
Doctors later told Pam that her placenta had detached from the uterine wall, a condition known as placental abruption, which can deprive the fetus of oxygen and nutrients. Doctors expected a stillbirth, Pam said, and they encouraged her to terminate the pregnancy.
"They thought I should have an abortion to save my life from the beginning all the way through the seventh month," she recalled.
Pam said her decision to sustain the pregnancy was a simple one - because of her faith.
"We were grieved," she said. "And so my husband just prayed that if the Lord would give us a son, that he would let us raise him."
In her seventh month of pregnancy, Pam traveled to the country's capital, Manila, where she received around-the-clock care from an American-trained physician.
For the next two months, Pam - steadfastly praying for a healthy child - remained on bed rest.
And on her due date - Aug. 14, 1987 - Pam gave birth to Timothy Richard Tebow, who she described as "skinny, but rather long." "We were concerned at first because he was so malnourished, but he definitely made up for it," she said, between laughs. Today Tim, now 20, stands at a solid 6'3" and 235 pounds.
Tim was three years old when the family moved back to the U.S., where they settled on a small piece of land in Jacksonville. Pam home-schooled her five children, while Bob, an ordained minister, worked full time running the ministry in the Philippines. Today, the family ministry employs a full-time staff of 50 people and operates an orphanage that houses 50 children.
Pam said the children learned some of their most valuable lessons during missions trips each summer.
"That was very life impacting. It changes your children's perspectives because when you grow up in America, you think this is how all of life is," she said. "But when you see people eating out of garbage cans, it affects everything else you do."
She also points to home-schooling for shaping her children's lives. "It's not all about academics," she explained. "It's about teaching them everything they need to know to be successful in life, and the schools aren't going to teach those things."
But she said love and faith impacted them the most.
"We put scripture to tune to help them memorize it and that has been very life transforming," she said. "I can't always remind my children of the truth, but if God's word is in their hearts, then he himself can remind them."
"A really big factor is to love them unconditionally just like God loves us," Pam added. "Kids will do some amazing things if they are loved unconditionally."[i]
Pam stood strong even in the face of opposition, she did not relent and believed her God was able!! I too beleive in the Great I AM that I AM, He has the first word and the last word. Praise the Lord!!
