This morning the Lord told me to read Hebrews 11. When He did, I thought of how this is known by many as the 'faith chapter' in the Bible. As I started reading it, He brought the song "Confidence" to my mind...
So give me faith like Daniel in the lion's den
Give me hope like Moses in the wilderness
Give me a heart like David, Lord be my defense
So I can face my giants with confiden
I do desire to have great faith as Daniel had when he was thrown into the lion's den. I desire to live in "Confidence" as many mentioned in Hebrews 11 did. This chapter begins with these words: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Woo hoo! As humans, we want to know everything. We want to know when things will happen and how. We have plan A, B, C, etc. to make them happen. But that is truly not the way to live. Instead we need to live in His presence so He will direct what and when things happen or do not happen in life. This may sound hard to do but it truly is not. When we live in His presence, we no longer worry about the particulars of situations. We know God is in control and He will reveal to us what we need to know, when we need to know it. I remember a few years ago I was happy being a Medical Chaplain when God called me to preach. I argued with God. I said there was no way I would ever preach because Doc is the preacher in the family. Fast forward to now. The same month I completed my classes at Nazarene Bible College Doc was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I am ready every Sunday to preach if he is unable. I am leading the Wednesday night adult Bible study and have taken on other parts of ministry along with preaching when needed. God prepared me for this season of life years ago when we were in a church with Pastor James could have taken this role. Now we are in a church where I am the only one available. God knows what we need. He knows what we will face. Nothing surprises Him. When we live a life of faith, we may be surprised by circumstances but we will not be devastated because we know He is in control. Hebrews 11 reminds us of great people who lived by faith. The first three verses are described by Matthew Henry as:
Faith always has been the mark of God's servants, from the beginning of the world. Where the principle is planted by the regenerating Spirit of God, it will cause the truth to be received, concerning justification by the sufferings and merits of Christ. And the same things that are the object of our hope, are the object of our faith. It is a firm persuasion and expectation, that God will perform all he has promised to us in Christ. This persuasion gives the soul to enjoy those things now; it gives them a subsistence or reality in the soul, by the first-fruits and foretastes of them. Faith proves to the mind, the reality of things that cannot be seen by the bodily eye. It is a full approval of all God has revealed, as holy, just, and good.
I like his wording that faith is "a full approval" from God. We will receive His fullness as we receive His Holy Spirit into our lives. There will be a peace in the midst of the turmoils of life that is unexplainable as we live in His Presence. His love will flow from us when we ask Him to cleanse and fill us with more of Himself. We will no longer have a 'to-do' list as we strive to live in His will. Instead we will walk where He directs, do what He puts before us, and know we are doing what He desires of us. Verse thirteen reminds us we may not always get what we want on this earth but as we live by faith we will receive eternity with the Lord which is the perfect gift to receive. I desire to live by faith. The only way to have such a life is to stand upon II Timothy 1:7 by allowing Him to cleanse me so He can fill me with His supernatural strength to not fear pancreatic cancer in my husband; my upcoming mammogram; the financial deficit for the church building rehab; medical bills; loss of income; etc. I will live by faith as I live in His presence. I have nothing to fear because God already knows the outcome and He will win. Woo hoo! There is nothing on this earth that can take me away from living by faith because I am filled with His Holy Spirit which empowers me to stand against the enemy.
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for this Scripture and song this morning that encourages me greatly! Thank You for the way You direct my path to walk by faith! As I look back on my life, You always provided exactly what was needed when it was needed. You have provided for physical needs so many times when my parents had health issues and You had people bless my family with groceries, money, etc. Why? Because my parents walked in great faith. Thank You for the way they taught me to walk by faith, love on others with Your love, and listen to You. Thank You for the way You continue to encourage my Momma as she continues to live for You! Father, I pray my children/grandchildren will see great faith in me. Lord, cleanse me so You can fill me today with more of You. Increase my faith as I live in Your presence. Open my eyes to anything I might miss today that You have for me. Lord, I pray blessings over Doc today. I pray You will take away the fatigue and ickiness today so he will be strengthened. He desires to be Your servant to preach. He desires to be stronger in his physical body so He can be more of who You have called him to be. We do not understand 'why' he is going through this but we understand You are with us and will empower us to do what You desire. Father, I pray for my friend who had the interview but did not receive the teaching position; my other friend who has a second interview; my pastor friend who is currently out of the pulpit; and my friend whose job is changing. I pray each one of them will walk by faith and listen for Your direction. Lord, be with Jim, Kim, and their family today as they have the memorial service for Sandie. May they feel Your presence in a mighty way. I also pray for my friend Mike with his gout and his home situation with his wife's addiction. Once again, may he walk by faith and know You are there with him. Thank You Jesus for being My Faith Builder! Amen.
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