I am overcome with conviction for my continued lack of
faith. A dear friend’s father had a
major heart attack last week and has possibly suffered brain damage. He is not spiritually saved; in Christian
terms that means he doesn’t have a relationship with Jesus. Knowing my friend’s passion for The Lord, I
know this weighs heavily on her heart, maybe even more than his physical
condition. It was not looking good all
week, but yesterday she shared that he made some meaningful movements, which
were incredibly encouraging.
I don’t know what will happen… I’ve been in similar
situations before.
I recall the cancer battle of the son of another friend of
mine. There were scattered moments of
hope, fostered by incredible health gains along the way, but ultimately he lost
that battle. I give credit to prayer and
the powerful faith of The
Northside Community Church, and others, for those hope-filled, miraculous
moments. I no longer put anything past the strength of FAITH that
The Northside has. It is quite a
phenomenon to me. I know they are
currently being vigilant in HOPE for our dear friend and her father.
Perhaps that’s the real miracle of FAITH: the
VIGILANCE in doubt, the PERSEVERANCE of belief through the reality
of dire circumstances and the ultimate
TRUST that no matter what happens, you’re NOT WRONG for making a stand in
FAITH. This FAITH knows that our God CAN, and our God WILL. It is not dependent on a feeling, or even vulnerable
to what we sense in a situation. The
outcome is dependent, in some
proportion, to the diligence of BELIEF on our part.
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I need to INSIST
in the BELIEF of the outcome, not just PERSIST in prayer. So in addition to my prayers, I will say in my
heart and mind:
-
I BELIEVE that her father will make a full
recovery and have time with Jesus on both sides of eternity.
-
I BELIEVE that my friend will be able to remain
in Nashville and not have to leave because of unemployment.
-
I BELIEVE that a young life can still be filled
with God’s glory, even if poor choices have changed its trajectory.
-
I BELIEVE I will do what I am meant to do for
The Lord.
I BELIEVE my God is capable. I BELIEVE I have a part in
the miracle. What I must do is put my
own skin in the game. I need to be defiantly hopeful even when the
circumstances are steeped in a convincing reality that lures me to believe, “It
won’t happen.” “They aren’t capable.” “It’s
just too much.”
Additionally, I have to realize that some of the sad outcomes may just be someone else’s miracle. Who am I to presume to know these
things? We will all die… for believers, who isn’t to say that that is the
biggest miracle and blessing of all? I
pray for The Lord to give me His eyes to see the power of faith and my responsibility in it.
In the book Kingdom
Woman, Tony Evans gives the account of faith by a woman named LINDA. He was scheduled to speak at a crusade in an
open stadium where stormy weather threatened the event. They gathered to pray and most prayed, “If
it’s your will God, hold back the rain.” Linda chimed in and prayed, “Lord, Your
name is at stake. We told these people
that if they would come out tonight they would hear a word from God. We told them they would hear from you. Now, if they come and You let it rain, and
You don’t control the weather, then You will look bad. We told them that You
wanted to say something to them, and if You don’t keep back what You can
control – the weather – someone could say that Your name is no good. Therefore
right now I ask in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the rain to stop for
the sake of Your Name!” Despite reports
that heavy thunderstorms were coming right at them, Linda sat on the stage, not
with an umbrella, as others were, but with a confident look of expectation
instead. Tony goes on to report, “The
rain rushed toward the stadium like a wall of water. Yet when it hit the
stadium it split. Half of the rain went
on one side of the stadium. The other half went on the other side. Then it literally met on the other side of
the stadium.” All the while, Linda had sat
there with a confident look on her face.
Linda’s confident belief backed up her bold prayer. That’s what I want! I want me some LINDA FAITH! (Can you hear the
child tantrum within me?) I want to sit confidently before the storm and refuse
to take an umbrella because even though I see the storm menacingly approaching,
I can KNOW The Lord won’t let it rain because of my UNWAVERING belief, because of
my PERSISTENT belief, because of my WILLFUL belief! And even if it doesn’t
happen and I am WRONG, I’d rather be wrong TRUSTING Jesus, than be right in
doubt. I’d rather please God than be
surprised by Him. Because
according to OUR FAITH it will be done (Matthew 9:29) and without OUR FAITH it
is impossible to please God! (Hebrews 11:6)
To my many friends who have the Spiritual Gift of faith,
thank you for your example; thank you for being Linda’s in my life. To The Northside Community Church
thank you for helping me see God in a bigger way; Your FAITH ASTOUNDS ME!
