THE RELIANCE/TRANSFER PRINCIPLE

There is an interesting principle we need to grasp and tightly hold on to. It is so simple, we often overlook it or wrongly give it little weight. When we focus our attention upon God and away from a difficult situation that seeks to crush us, we in effect, transfer the difficulty from us to God. Such belief removes the mountain from our shoulders and squarely places it in the capable hands of Almighty God. At the point of our reliance upon God, our problem is no longer ours, but Gods. Let me say that again. At the point of our reliance upon God, our problem or problems are no longer ours, but Gods. And when such a revelation takes hold of our thinking, our hearts burst into praise and we are ever thankful unto God for shouldering our load and bringing about relief. Reliance upon God and giving Him the praise and glory is a sure-fire "one-two punch" against any mountain or impossible situation.

We must not be like the unbeliever, who can only murmur, complain, and gripe when faced with difficulties. Such faithless attributes are markers and signs of an unbelieving heart in God's willingness and ability to do what He says. And what God is willing to do for you and I is staggering. We will discuss that. But first, let's look at how reliance upon God acts as a transferring agent.

TRANSFERRING OUR BURDENS TO GOD

Most of us are familiar with 1 Peter 5:7 whichs says, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." God calls upon us to cast our cares and anxieties upon Him. This "casting" transfers our concerns to God. God cares for us so much that He is willing and able to take our troubles and make them His. And what seems to be a mountain to us is nothing more than a speck of sand to Him. And so God rightfully says, "Do not fear. I have dealt with it. Be no longer concerned."

But let's go to an even more telling scripture concerning how reliance upon God does indeed transfer our problems and burdens to our Heavenly Father. And remember, it gives God great pleasure to perform His Fatherly role of Lord protector. We see this vividly with Jesus Christ, Who perfectly reflects the beauty and tenderness of the Father's heart. In looking upon the City of Jerusalem, which symbolized the focus of God's love for His people, Israel, Jesus cried out,

"As a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings." What a perfect illustration of Gods' protective love for you and I. So many times, God sought to give Jerusalem comfort and protection, but she wanted none of it. She had grown carnal, worldly, and had filled herself with pride. She was far from spiritual, from from being humble, and hence, far from God. She did not want God to be God in her life. But we must learn from past mistakes. And in this lesson we have a marvelous opportunity to realize the importance of living the spiritual life and giving God pleasure to be a Father to you and I.

We go to the Old Testament in the second book of Chronicles where once again we have a large and threatening armed force of over 1 million men led by Zerah the Ethiopian approaching the armies of King Asa, which consisted of 300,000 troops from Judah and 280,000 troops from Benjamin. They were clearly outnumbered 2 to 1. So often in life, we are outnumbered and overwhelmed by various problems and concerns. These often materialize in the form of financial, medical, or personal problems far beyond our ability to find a solution. In fact, they often threaten to crush us. But regardless of the form, we have strong help and we only need to look heavenward. This is what Asa did.

Asa called to God: "LORD, there is no one besides Thee to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in Thee, and in Thy name have come against this multitude. O LORD, Thou art our God; let not man prevail against Thee." 2 Chr. 14:11

Asa rightly recognized God as the only One who could help him in his dire situation. Asa had no strength against such an overwhelming enemy. He confessed his trust, reliance, and belief upon God Himself for victory. Then he made an amazing statement that could very easily be missed if we are not diligent students of God's Word. Asa said,

Asa realized the importance of entrusting his problem to God. He knew that once he believed in God for victory, that his problem was no longer his but God's. It was not Asa and his men that Zerah and his warriors of one million were against now, but God Himself. And that is exactly what Asa said. He said to God. God, let not man prevail against You. He did not say, "let not man prevail against us." That is what you and I might have said. But not Asa. He had the same revealed knowledge and intimate counsel that we have come to learn. At the point of our reliance upon God, our problem or problems are no longer ours, but Gods. God "routed" the Ethiopians and God will route any circumstance that comes before you or I.

In the New Testament, there is a scripture dealing with "removing mountains." Unfortunately, this powerful scripture is often twisted to elevate man's role in getting what he says. But the careful student of God's Word knows to compare scripture with scripture and to take God's Word as a whole as a means to rightfully divide God's Word. And we have learned that trust and reliance and faith in God is the means to remove mountains. Christ confirms this is Mark 11:22-24. His Words read as follows in:

22 And Jesus *answered saying to them, "Have faith in God.
23 "Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him.
24 "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you.

Now what is the first is the first thing Christ says about removing mountains. "Have faith in God" Mk. 11:22. The moment we are faced with an overwhelming situation, have faith in God, rely on Him, trust in Him. That's our principle. The application is next.

We have to act upon God Word and apply it to a specific need to realize results. At the point of reliance upon God, we have been taught whatever mountain that comes against us is no longer ours, but God's. Remember? Here in Verse 23, God illustrates that having "faith in God" removes mountain as though they were cast into the sea. By that He means the mountain or overwhelming situation is out of sight, gone, removed. And then Christ reaffirms the reliance/transfer principle based and rooted in faith in God without any trace of doubt or fear.

Lastly, Christ sums up in verse 24. In this verse Christ speaks of three steps to remove a mountain. First, He introduces prayer and supplication. When we lift up our eyes to heaven, and fix upon God our heavenly Father, we do so in recognition of His supremecy, provision, and mercy. We then communicate to God. We speak that which we believe in and trust for. Secondly, He speaks of the 'reliance/transfer' principle with the words "believe that you have received". And lastly, Christ speaks of results-the taking possession of the fruits of our faith, the granting of our desire.

There is so much God wants to do for you and I. And the level of difficulty does not limit God's ability as it limits ours. Nothing is too hard, nothing impossible for God. And when we learn to transfer our burdens to God, then nothing is impossible for us who believe. Yet, are we living persistently in the Sphere of Faith-living in a pleasing way before God? Or, is our concept of spirituality merely the doing of good deeds? If so, we have missed the boat. Many people of many faiths and religions do good deeds. But these are not what grabs God's attention.