Stewardship

---

“Maybe” is a word that I am not sure God likes very much. This word is part of a foundation of “wishing” as opposed to hearing and believing. Wishing is something we all do too much of without really even knowing it. Sometimes we might even refer to it as faith. An example might be, “Well, let’s pray about it and just see what God may do”. Ever heard something like that? Ever said something like that yourself? I know I am guilty. The implication is that we are really not sure or persuaded from a position of “having heard” … instead it’s a “He can if He wants to, maybe He will, maybe He won’t, but let’s lob it up there and take a shot at it anyways” type of deal. Maybe here, maybe there, maybe, maybe, maybe. God is not a fan of “maybe”.

For a while now it seems like God has focused me on this issue of “maybe”. He has been teaching me about it and I am seeing plainly how “maybe” in my own life is something He would really like me to allow Him to purge completely. I am working on it. It’s clear to me that “maybe” does a lot of “forfeiting damage” that we are not even aware of most of the time. “Forfeiting” … meaning to lose as a penalty or as a consequence for thinking and believing in terms of “maybe”.

So, I began to meditate on “what is ‘maybe’?”

Some things I have found to be true about “Maybe” … “Maybe” is that door stop that keeps the door slightly open for doubt and unbelief to come in … it’s that imbedded, preconceived notion born from life experiences that acts like an ear plug and prevents the heart’s hearing and reception of a rhema word from God (see Luke 8:11-15), or allows that rhema word to be stolen by the enemy after its reception. “Maybe” is that lukewarm position in between believing and not believing … God wants to spew it right straight out of our lives. It’s that place we leave open that we can go to and be convinced that the answer to the question, “Did God really say …?” is “No, He didn’t”. It’s that place where we leave an allowance for, “well, if God doesn’t then ….” after God has already spoken to our heart about the matter.

The truth is that the position of “maybe” is like a default position that we go to which dshas not heard from God or has been subsequently stripped of what was heard from God. In other words, there is no faith in “maybe”. None. Remember in Mark 4 when Jesus rebuked the wind and waves and later asked the disciples, “How is it that you have no faith?” Well, “maybe” puts us in the same position the apostles were in on that boat … and when we are there, we should expect to hear the same question from Jesus ... “how is it that you have no faith?” It’s like he said to them, “You heard me say ‘let’s go to the other side’, but you really didn’t hear did you? You heard … but you didn’t heed what you heard and protect what you heard. You heard, then the waves stripped away what you heard and left you in the position of “maybe we are going to die right now! This boat is filling up with water!”

Jesus never operated in “maybe” and he doesn’t expect us to operate in it either. When He said, “Peace, be still” to the waves that evening in the boat, I really don’t think He was thinking “maybe, just maybe this might work … let me give it a shot”. The prayer of “maybe” or a command coming off of a foundation of “maybe” never saved or affected anything … and it never will. We should all come to a hard, set and strong position of despising “maybe”. “Maybe” is a thief plain and simple. We all need to have an edge about ourselves in regards to “maybe”, especially given the times in which we are living. The dark is getting darker and light has to get lighter.

If we look back over our lives for times when we have allowed what God had spoken to us to be established in our heart and to keep “maybe” out of our way, we’ll see some of the breakthroughs that have encouraged us the most in our lives. I expect this is true for everyone that is reading this. At least that is my experience, and I don’t think any of us are that much different. I heard a preacher say one time very honestly that he tended to hear from God in garbled notes as opposed to the pristine clarity that Jesus had with the Father. I appreciated and understood immediately what he meant, yet I know if Jesus could hear with pristine clarity, so can we, right? I mean, He took our place so we could take His place, so why leave on the table what has been suffered us to have freely? Right?

The lack of clarity creates a lot of the “maybe” tendencies we have to deal with, especially when we have had a few runs where we have stepped out and later found out that God was not in something, we had the wrong motive, or that the timing was off, something really was not established in our heart, or whatever. I’m sure you’ve been there just like me. God wants us to operate just as Jesus did with that real clarity in hearing from the Father off a foundation of daily relationship and fellowship. But it’s like other areas in our lives, we have to get ourselves, our ambitions and our agendas out of the way. It’s the wise old exhortation from Jesus himself that said, “lose your life and you will find it” and “enter by the narrow gate”. He basically said, “Turn loose of what is yours and come follow me”, and too often we are some of the ones that have to go back and take care of this or that first. The result is that the “this and that’s” muddy up the water … and we get garbled notes just like that preacher said. Next thing we know … here comes “maybe”. I had to confess in seeing some of this that “I have the maybes”. I expect a lot of us have “the maybes”.

We all battle the soulish realms and fleshly appetites where pride and lust for other things raise their ugly heads and drive us toward self-promotion and self-justification (even in spiritual areas believe it or not). Peter and Paul battled it … Jesus too for that matter. But, Jesus knew to lean on the Father’s strength and power to overcome. Jesus knew how to take heed of what he heard and how to protect his heart with what God had previously spoken. He knew how to keep God’s agenda front and center and let Him do the promoting and let Him do the works.

Jesus literally lived off of the words from God’s mouth, and the Father in Him, He did all the works, based on Jesus’ own testimony. When Jesus heard, he really heard. He took his own advice and heeded how and what he heard. As a result, at the point of ministry, Jesus dealt and operated in “known outcomes”. Yes, they were outcomes that were unseen in the natural, but they were known outcomes to him. When he said, “Lazarus, come forth”, he wasn’t thinking, “I sure hope this works because there is quite a crowd around here watching.” No, he knew what would happen because to him it had already happened. He had taken heed of what he heard and esteemed it, honored it, and expected it as the will of the Father for ministry right here and right now. No place was made or allowed for “maybe”.

There remains a big difference between mentally ascending to something and truly believing in the heart. The question is, “what’s the difference?” As alluded to above, Jesus gave really good counsel and wisdom when he said to take heed what you hear and to take heed how you hear (Mark 4:24, Luke 8:18). Don’t be one that hears but really doesn’t hear. This is some good insight as to how Jesus kept “maybe” at bay. Lots of things impact “what” and “how” we hear. Jesus basically said for us to stop and think about what we are hearing and to stop and think about how we are hearing. What voice is truly speaking to me? How am I hearing that voice? Where is it originating? Is it selfless or selfish? Is it’s impact temporal or eternal? Who does it lift up and elevate and bring glory to? There a probably hundreds of questions we can ask in taking heed what and how we hear. Ask God what questions you should ask in taking heed what and how you hear. The answer to that question is some of the strongest, pure and peaceable wisdom that ever comes to us from above.

If I stop and do this like He said, I will truly hear when He speaks to my heart and faith will come. Then, I will start seeing the “maybes” that are littered all over the place from voices that would like me to listen to them … and I will give them no place. If I had a bunch thieves hiding in my house and stopped, looked real close, and noticed them, I’d kick them all out (at a minimum). It’s time for us to start kicking out all the “maybes” by taking heed to what and how we hear and making no room or allowance for “maybe”.

Mark 4
24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
Luke 8
18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

What I have noticed in seeing some of this is that our typical Christian faith project, in America at least, tends to be inward or self-oriented as opposed to outflow and ministry to others oriented. Have you ever noticed how Jesus was never really concerned about solving his own natural problems? We just never see a real focus in His life toward that end. What about Paul? If I asked you if the apostle Paul was a man of faith, your answer would probably be “absolutely, he was”, and I would agree. Check this out regarding Paul’s comfort focused and self-oriented life …

2 Corinthians 6
4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, 5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; 6 by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, 7 by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

2 Corinthians 11
24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.

Something tells me that Paul didn’t spend a lot of time rebuking all that stuff. He was a man of daily ministry and revelation outflow wherever he was, wherever he went, and God kept him full. You can’t go through all that stuff listed above and not be on “full for outflow” in God’s grace (ability). When we can see “outflow” or “ministry” as the place in our lives that we will not allow “maybe” to impede, the cares of this world will have been whipped and put out to pasture. God will add anything and everything needed to that place and position of true sonship. Fruit will abound from that place to the kingdom, to the Family … always. No maybe about it.

What about you? Do you have the “maybes”? If so, take heed of what God has said to you.

Prayer:
Father, alert us to the “maybes” in our lives. Holy Spirit show us and teach us how to take heed what and how we hear. Give each of us specific questions we can ask and answer to test the questions that come to our mind. Draw us to the Word daily. Draw us to prayer daily. Draw us to fellowship and worship daily. Develop in us the expectation of great exploits for the Kingdom. Keep us full for outflow. With boldness, may we exercise Your will in the earth. Alert us to protect what the Father speaks to our hearts. Establish in each of us a heart of outflow in whatever area we are called to serve in the Body … and the doing of it. Amen.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE AS A MEMBER OR VISITOR