FAITH 4.0

When we first got my CA diagnosis, we were thrust into total despair and depression and all-consuming fear. When we were able to accept the knowledge that our God COULD heal me, the despair left. Not to say that I did not have my moments of fear…..satan loves to get us fearful and doubting whenever he can. When we decided to stand on God’s promises from Scripture about healing, our faith was strengthened immeasurably. I felt that we had arrived at the place where we needed to stay for the duration, safe in God’s promises.

That’s not what has happened. God has once again swooped in and challenged us to a higher level of faith than we have ever aspired to or thought we would need this side of eternity.

The wonderful old classic devotional Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman is one of my favorites for tough times. Every single day holds a pearl for those who are hurting. Well, when I opened to my reading one day last week, the Holy Spirit stirred in my heart in a very real way, and I got the clear message, “Mary, pay attention to this. This is for you.”

Here are a few excerpts:

            AS LONG AS YOU ARE WAITING, HOPING, OR LOOKING, you are NOT BELIEVING, (Mary)!! You may have hope or an earnest desire, but THAT IS NOT FAITH, for “faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Punch in the gut. And I immediately knew its truth. While standing on God’s promises, I have continued to WISH FOR healing and LOOK FOR RESULTS OF healing. While I haven’t been wringing my hands saying, “Oh, I hope I will be healed. I hope I will be healed,” I have done plenty of keeping my faith in the future.  “Thank you, God, that I WILL BE healed.”

          The command regarding BELIEVING PRAYER is: “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you HAVE RECEIVED it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24). We are to believe that we have received----this present moment. True faith relies on God and BELIEVES BEFORE SEEING. Naturally, we want some evidence that our petition is granted before we believe, but we NEED NO EVIDENCE other than God’s Word!!! He has spoken and in harmony with our faith it will be done.

Funny how God drives His points home to me. I took my hit-and-run car into Mart’s Auto Body to get it fixed. Mr. Mart took a look, assured me that the car would look as good as new and gave me the estimate. With utter confidence in Mr. Mart’s word alone, I left my car with him, KNOWING it would look great. I did not HOPE the car would be done well. I did not WISH for a second that the repair would be acceptable. He gave me his promise, I took him at his word, and I left with complete assurance. I had evidence of what I did not see, simply through Mr. Mart’s promise to me.

Yes, Lord, I GET IT!! I had believing faith over a car repair and yet I did not have total believing faith in the promises of the Creator of the Universe, the great I AM, the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever. The God who heals in 2011 as he healed in the New Testament. Yes, Lord, I GET IT!

God is calling Dick and Sam and me to the next level of believing prayer. We are going to take God at his Word, as we have been doing, but we will be praising and thanking Him for the healing THAT HAS ALREADY BEGUN, even though we do not see the results of it. The ASSURANCE of things hoped for…the EVIDENCE of what is now unseen. This is where we must go. To the top layer of what faith is meant to be. No more wishing or hoping. We must go “all in.” We must leave nothing on the faith table.

          Faith THAT BELIEVES IT WILL SEE will keep us from becoming discouraged. We will laugh at seemingly impossible situations while we watch with delight to see how God is going to open a path through our Red Sea. It is in these places of severe testing with no human way out of our difficulty, that our faith grows and is strengthened. Lift up your head and PRAISE HIM RIGHT NOW for the deliverance that is on its way to you!!!!

Lord Jesus, I thank you for pushing me. I thank you for wanting me to put every ounce of believing prayer inside of me into the present. I thank you right now for the deliverance from cancer that has already begun inside of me, though I do not see its evidence, and may not for some time. I thank you for preparing me to share this with others. I serve a mighty and faithful God.