What to do with a GOD sized idea.

The year was 1965 and a man by the name of Fred Smith was attending Yale University. Smith wrote an economics paper explaining how goods were transported in the U.S. at that time. The paper explained how Smith had an idea involving overnight shipping. Smith received a “C” on the paper. A few years later, after serving in Vietnam, Smith was finally able to put his idea into action. By 1973, Mr. Smith had a total of nine airplanes and numerous investors. On March 12, 1973, the first of many packages were shipped out of Memphis, Tenn. to 25 different cities. You might know Mr. Smith’s company now as FedEx. Today FedEx has over 280,000 employees. The company grosses over $37.9 billion a year and makes approximately 4.8 million shipments a day. What was once an idea shortly became a reality for Fred Smith.

The question arises; how are we as Christians supposed to take the ideas and visions that God shows us and turn them into reality? There is no better example than the Biblical figure Nehemiah. Nehemiah had a God given big idea, which was to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was a cupbearer for King Artexerxes. Upon hearing that Jerusalem had been destroyed, Nehemiah asked King Artexerxes if he could have his permission to rebuild the city. A cupbearer asking a King such a question could have possibly led to the cupbearers beheading for a perceived lack of loyalty to the Kings interests. But instead, the King honored his wish. King Artexerxes not only honored Nehemiah’s wish, he protected Nehemiah as he traveled to and from Jerusalem. The biggest surprise of all is that King Artexerxes financed the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

The first thing that we can learn from the story of Nehemiah on how God turns our big ideas into reality is that, after Nehemiah received his big idea, he began to pray about it. If God shows you something, it is imperative that you cover it with prayer. Mark 11:24 says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Secondly, Nehemiah planned as though God was going to grant him success with his big idea. Remember, the only ideas that you and I really want to succeed are the ones that come from God. Thirdly, Nehemiah waited for the Lord to bring upon the right time to turn his idea into reality. It is often that God will test our endurance by requiring a season of waiting, while trusting that God's timing is best and not ours. Psalm 40:1 says, “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.” Lastly, we find that the model Nehemiah left to us would not have been so if he would have not wrote it down. It can be very useful to us and others to put on paper that which we believe God has shown us.

So look around you at the awesomeness and splendor of God's creation and know that all of it was HIS idea and as HIS image bearers HE continues HIS incredible creative nature through us!!!

Has God laid an idea on your heart? If He has, are willing to pray about it? Are you willing to plan for it? Are you willing to wait it out? And are you willing to write it down just as Nehemiah did?

By David Foster