The law of requisite variety

“Routine is one key to spiritual growth. . . . But when the routine becomes routine, you have to change the routine.”- Mark Batterson

As Mark Batterson continues Chapter 11 of The Grave Robber, he asserts that if we want to get well, we need to hear what we’d rather not hear and do what we’re disinclined to do.  He adds: “You can’t expect God to do the supernatural if you aren’t willing to do the natural.”

Pastor Batterson notes that during his college basketball career, he had reconstructive surgery for a torn ACL in both knees.  When he got up out of bed for the first time following surgery, the blood rush to his extremities created pain so acute he almost passed out.  So, it truly was an amazing feat for the invalid not only to stand up, but also walk after thirty-eight years.  He changed his mat-sitting routine.

Similarly, if we want to experience the miraculous, we need to change our routine.  Mark states that, according to the law of requisite variety, “the survival of any system depends on its capacity to cultivate variety in its internal structures.”  In other words, prolonged equilibrium or routine becomes counterproductive.

If we continually exercise the same muscles in the same way, they start adapting and stop growing.  We need to disorient them.  The same is true in the spiritual realm.  Small changes in routine start with a small step of faith.  But, Mark states, “that one small step often turns into a giant leap.”

Today’s question: What spiritual routines could benefit from revitalization?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Self-fulfilling prophecies”

 

The law of requisite variety

Point-blank questions

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”- John 5:6

Mark Batterson begins Chapter 11 (“Self-Fulfilling Prophecies”) of The Grave Robber by reporting that, in November of 2004, a group of elite medical researchers met at Rockefeller University in New York City.  They ultimately determined that most of our health problems are caused by factors under our control.

Most of our major health problems, Pastor Batterson notes, could be solved by making a few minor changes.  However, a wish or a whim won’t result in lasting change.  We have to want to change.  Mark offers his working definition of want: “the sanctified desire and matching discipline to do what needs to be done, no matter how hard it is or how long it takes.”

Jesus elevated formulating the right question to an art form.  Some of Jesus’ most poignant ones are the point-blank questions.  One was the catalyst for His third miracle.  Jesus didn’t assume the invalid really wanted to get well.  Only someone who wants help truly can be helped.

Mark points out that it’s easy for us to become accustomed to our crutches.  Our situation won’t change if we keep sitting on our security blanket, choosing safety over transformation.  Yet, every blessing from God comes with the responsibility to steward that blessing.

Today’s question: Following your vocation loss, what crutches or security blankets do you need to throw away?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “The law of requisite variety”

Point-blank questions

God is able

“God won’t answer 10o percent of the prayers you don’t pray.”- Mark Batterson

As Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 10 of The Grave Robber, he observes that even though miraculous healing is the exception rather than the rule, if we assume God’s answer will be no, we don’t give Him a chance to say yes.

Pastor Batterson says we would be incredulous if a major league baseball player refused to step into the batter’s box because he didn’t get a hit every time up.  Yet, Mark emphasizes, that is how many of us approach prayer- “we let a few strikeouts keep us from swinging for the fences.”

To experience the miraculous, the author notes that we must come to terms with the fact that the particulars- who, what, when, where, and how- aren’t up to us.  We can’t answer our own prayers.  Furthermore, most miracles in the Bible seem to happen to people who make the fewest assumptions.  They don’t know what God can’t do.  Mark explains:

“God is able.  That’s my only assumption.  And any other assumption is a false assumption.  He is a God who can make the impossible possible. . . . God doesn’t always answer my prayers how I want or when I want, but I live with an unshakable conviction that God is able.”

We can’t keep doing the same thing if we want God to do a new thing.  We need only one assumption: God is able.

Today’s question: What false assumptions have you made following your vocation loss?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Point-blank questions”

 

God is able

God"s opinion

“With God all things are possible.”- Matthew 19:26

“Nothing is impossible with God.”- Luke 1:37

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t- you’re right.”- Henry Ford

In Chapter 10 (“Very Superstitious”) of The Grave Robber, Mark Batterson emphasizes that when the Bible says the same thing two ways, it’s doubly important.  Yet, we all too often make false assumptions about what is and isn’t possible.  Pastor Batterson states that embracing the word impossible is the primary reason we don’t experience the miraculous.

When we let logical assumptions trump our theological needs, before we realize it our reality becomes defined by our finite, human assumptions instead of divine revelation.  The invalid at the Bethesda pool was way past his prime, living on borrowed time.  In Jesus’ day, even if you lived past your second birthday, the average life expectancy was only forty.  This third miracle was a way to prove His power knows no logical or chronological limits.

As Mark points out, it’s not too late for us either:

“It’s never too late to be who you might have been.  If’ you’re breathing, it means God’s not finished with you yet.  You are never past your prime.  But if you want a second chance, you need to seek a second opinion- God’s opinion.”

Today’s question: How difficult has it been for you to eliminate the word impossible from your vocabulary?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “God is able”

 

God"s opinion

Sweat equity

“Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning.  Earning is an attitude.  Effort is an action.”- Dallas Willard

Mark Batterson points out in Chapter 9 (“The Seventh Hour”) of The Grave Robber that the distance the royal official traveled between Capernaum and Cana is a twenty-mile uphill climb at a five percent incline.  Some miracles, like healing the official’s son, require sweat equity.  While our effort can’t make miracles happen, our lack of effort can keep them from happening.  Miracles cannot be earned, but effort may be the catalyst.

As Mark has written in All In, most of us only are willing to follow Jesus to the point of inconvenience- no further.  Following Jesus becomes problematic when it necessitates a detour in our plans.  Mark states: “If you want to experience a miracle, sometimes you have to go way out of your way.”  God just may want to see how serious we are- if we’re willing to walk to Cana.

Pastor Batterson emphasizes that the common denominator among miraculous answers to prayer is perseverance.  People don’t just pray like it depended on God, they also work as if it depended on them.  Some miracles happen in stages.  We need to pray again and again and again.  Mark encourages us not to let fear become a factor:

“Sometimes we let fear keep us from praying for a miracle because we feel like we will have failed if God doesn’t answer the way we want.  That isn’t failure because the answer isn’t up to us.  The only way we can fail is failing to ask.”

Today’s question: What has helped you persevere in prayer?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “God’s opinion”

Sweat equity

God Speed

In Chapter 8 (“God Speed”) of The Grave Robber, Mark Batterson states that Jesus’ second miracle- healing the royal official’s son- “redefined reality by defying the four dimensions of space and time.  It was a long-distance miracle in real time.”

Back in 1964, James Stewart Bell published a groundbreaking paper that disproved the principle of local causes.  This meant that everything in the universe is interconnected, regardless of distance.  The relationship between particles is mediated by the Fifth Force Himself.  Pastor Batterson observes that one reasons we have difficulty believing God for miracles is we think of Him as being subject to the very laws of nature He created and instituted.

“Instantaneous nonlocality” is a technical term describing “an invisible link between particles that defies the four dimensions of time and space.  Albert Einstein referred to it as “spooky action at a distance.”  Mark adds that Einstein’s reference isn’t a bad definition of prayer.  Prayer defies space-time limitations and has  no expiration date.  Prayer operates at God Speed, as do miracles.  Mark explains:

“Miracles rarely happen on our timeline.  And you can’t give God a deadline.  But you can trust His timing.  He’s never early.  He’s never late.  He’s right on time, every time.”

Today’s question: How does the principle of God Speed affect your thinking regarding miracles and prayer?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Sweat equity”

 

God Speed

Holy confidence

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  And even the very hairs of your head are numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”- Matthew 10:29-31

“My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side.”- Abraham Lincoln

As Mark Batterson concludes Chapter 7 of The Grave Robber, he states that Ethiopia has a long history of Christianity because Philip unquestioningly obeyed God, encountering an Ethiopian eunuch on a desert road.   God only told Philip to take a specific road- not what would happen or why he was heading toward Gaza.

Pastor Batterson states that’s where most of us get stuck, because we want God to reveal the second step before we take the first.  To take that step of faith, we need holy confidence.  In ancient Israel, a sparrow was the cheapest ticket item in the food market.  The Father’s concern for such little birds shows He cares about every minute detail of His creation.

Mark emphasizes we’re born on a cosmic battlefield between good and evil.  Reality is defined by our reaction to adversity, as Mark notes:

“You cannot control your circumstances, but you can live with holy confidence, knowing all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purposes.”

Our hurt can become someone else’s healing, our worst day transformed into our best day.

Today’s question: What Scriptures of Christian authors have strengthened your holy confidence in God?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “God Speed”

Holy confidence