11 The day for building your walls will come, the day for extending your boundaries. 12 In that day people will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates and from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain. Micah 7:11-12 (NIV)
“All you can eat.” Ever see those words on the outside of a restaurant? What a bold claim. How do they know they have enough food to feed you all you can eat?
To me the buffet is a funny place. It seems that for some people it’s like a sporting event. They begin by not having eaten breakfast so they can get their “money’s worth.” They skip the salad, of course, because who goes to a buffet for a salad? They build their plate as if they’re packing a shopping bag—solid things on the bottom and lighter things on the top so their food tower doesn’t collapse on the way to their table. They pace themselves, round after round of starchy, sweet, salty goodness. And just when it seems they can’t eat any more they make the strategic move that keeps them in the game—they loosen the belt. With one simple act they find more room.
Micah is talking to us about there being a time to extend our boundaries—making more room for more people. Then what happens? More people come from everywhere—Egypt, Assyria, the Euphrates, from sea to sea, mountain to mountain. Why did they come? Room was made for them. It’s the prayer Jabez offered to the Lord when he asked that his territory would be enlarged.
So how does this translate to our lives? Well, consider: Is God wanting you to make room for more people in your heart? I know what you’re thinking; you can barely handle what’s on your plate now. And I just want you to consider--what if God is looking for willingness and what if those who are willing He expands (a little loosening of the belt)? God wants to grow us and use us to be people of influence who use that influence to point people to Him. Are you willing? Then may the belt of your “trousers of influence” be loosened.
“All you can eat.” Ever see those words on the outside of a restaurant? What a bold claim. How do they know they have enough food to feed you all you can eat?
To me the buffet is a funny place. It seems that for some people it’s like a sporting event. They begin by not having eaten breakfast so they can get their “money’s worth.” They skip the salad, of course, because who goes to a buffet for a salad? They build their plate as if they’re packing a shopping bag—solid things on the bottom and lighter things on the top so their food tower doesn’t collapse on the way to their table. They pace themselves, round after round of starchy, sweet, salty goodness. And just when it seems they can’t eat any more they make the strategic move that keeps them in the game—they loosen the belt. With one simple act they find more room.
Micah is talking to us about there being a time to extend our boundaries—making more room for more people. Then what happens? More people come from everywhere—Egypt, Assyria, the Euphrates, from sea to sea, mountain to mountain. Why did they come? Room was made for them. It’s the prayer Jabez offered to the Lord when he asked that his territory would be enlarged.
So how does this translate to our lives? Well, consider: Is God wanting you to make room for more people in your heart? I know what you’re thinking; you can barely handle what’s on your plate now. And I just want you to consider--what if God is looking for willingness and what if those who are willing He expands (a little loosening of the belt)? God wants to grow us and use us to be people of influence who use that influence to point people to Him. Are you willing? Then may the belt of your “trousers of influence” be loosened.
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