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Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
God has been testing my faith in Him a lot these past few weeks. I have had Satan lingering in my mind bringing back struggles, anxieties and lies, deceiving my heart and mind. And I was being tested and tried to whether I should believe this stuff I was hearing, or rely on the truth that has already been set before me. It was this battle between flesh and spirit. But then I was reminded of two words. Unshaken faith. And I had to ask myself “what does this mean?“ So, I went to the Lord and asked Him to help me understand, what these two words meant. After about a two weeks, He showed me three things to help me have this “Unshakable Faith.”
1.) Hide my heart in His word. Now, as a Christian I should have already understood this statement. But, He made me realize I didn’t. My heart wasn’t completely hidden in His word. See ladies, we need to constantly be seeking, praying, reading and knocking. We need to know how to fight strong in those times of struggle and warfare. And the ONLY way we can be strong and unshaken is by studying and knowing His word and voice. We need to have the word written on our hearts so we remember the truth and promise of our Savior. When Satan tries to lure you in with a lie you can shoot right back at him with the Truth that you have studied. So, to say that, the struggles won’t lessen and be easier but you will have the strength to get through them and the truth will be set before you.
2.) Talk to Him. I have not realized just how important and satisfying it is to pour out and share my desires with Jesus, until now. The power of prayer is such an amazing thing. Prayer is not only such an amazing gift but a privilege to us as Christians. It’s so awesome to have freedom to talk to and pour out to someone who cares for us and loves us so unconditionally! He longs for us to come to Him and share our hearts desires. And when we genuinely seek Him and ask in His name, He will give them to you if it is His will. Prayer is a way of preparing our hearts for our day. A way to check our attitude and to clear our hearts and minds of any wickedness and distraction. We are allowing Him in, and opening up our hearts to His presence. We need to be on our knees praying more often then we think.
3.) Let your faith be genuine. Now this was something I felt like He laid heavy on my heart. “Let your faith be genuine” Those words pondered my mind and heart for awhile. Our faith needs to be sincere and genuine. It needs to be true and heartfelt. It needs to be alive and REAL. It can’t just be a term we use, or a quote we say. It needs to flow through the heart, not just from our mouth. Like I said earlier, our faith needs to be strong and unshaken.
After He laid this points on my heart He pressed a portion of scripture on my heart from 1 Peter verses 3-9..
“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”
Verse 7 is what stuck out to me those most. Where it says, “…that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ…”
Though our faith is tested by various trials and struggles, our souls were made to praise Him, in and out of the storm. Its our faith that gets us through. Our faith in Jesus is what makes us whole. There is no way to get around, above, or under the lies, the struggles of everyday life, the spiritual warfare and the valleys. The only way to do it, is to get through them. To go through them. To grow through them, and to have faith through them. Just like psalmist David said, “Yes, even though I walk through the valley. I will fear no evil, for I KNOW YOU are with me…” Jesus, is faithful, He is slow to anger, and quick to love.
Jesus didn’t declare that you need a mountain of faith to move a mustard seed. But, you only need a mustard seed of faith to move a mountain. For anything is possible if you trust in Jesus. Could you imagine though? If we DID have faith the size of a mountain, how much more God could do.. Yes, He is faithful and can do all things. But, in order to do these things in our lives, we need faith and trust in Him, with nothing in our way. We need to give those anxieties, those lies, and struggles to Him, those little speed bumps in the road. They slow us down. In order to run our race, we can’t have any baggage, any weights, we can’t have things weighing us down. The less on our shoulders, the faster and stronger we run. That applies to our relationship with Jesus, to keep our relationship strong with Him, we need to get the anxieties out of our hearts, off our mind. You see, Faith believes in the future against the present. We believe the promises of God for our tomorrow which gives us JOY for TODAY. He gives us rest for our future. He has a hope and plan for you, so there is no need to worry, have joy in today.
Often times when we are trying to get away from our struggles, sins, and anxieties we are in a way dwelling on them. Have you ever thought about that? What we do is we go through this period of time where we keep saying to ourselves, “NOPE! I’m not gonna do it.” or “I’m not going to think about this struggle.” and “I won’t think about so and so anymore.” you see, in a way, those things are still consuming our minds. Here is what we need to be saying. “Dwell on whatever things are TRUE, whatever things are NOBLE, whatever things are JUST, things that are PURE, good report, meditate on these things. - (Philippians 4:8) When we start to fill our hearts and minds with truth, our faith becomes stronger, and our anxieties start to lessen. Focus on the things that are lovely, the promises of God, The hope we have in Him, meditate on Scripture. You’ll be so lost and deep into truth there will be no room in your mind and heart for lies and anxieties to come in. Jesus will fill your all in all. HE will make you whole. He sustains you. The light will shine so bright from your heart, darkness won’t have a place there. This kind of pure faith in Christ won’t just hold you up for now until the next struggle, but it will keep you and help you face death itself. Courageous, unshakable faith, in Jesus. Before our feet hit the ground in the morning, we need to be saying, “Jesus, not my will, but YOURS be done. I have faith in you, and will trust in your promises, forever more.”
I like to think of our faith in Jesus, sort of like A blind man has faith in his guide. The blind man needs enough trust and faith in his guide to know that his next destination is going to be good and safe. He needs enough faith to know that his guide is always going to be right by his side. And the guide has him in perfect care, he is always by the mans side, talking to him, taking him from place to place, making sure he has all he needs. And his walking stick, its something he can lean on, something to help guide him, to know what lies in front of him, it’s a tool to help him. The bible is our tool, the bible is something we can lead on, something to redirect our thoughts towards the truth, it helps us understand the goodness of God. We are the blind man, Jesus is our guide.
Do you have faith in your guide? Do you have things getting in the way of your relationship with Him?
Sweet sister, I know its hard, and this maybe sound like a lot of talk. But its possible, Jesus has so much for you! He wants you to be faithful to Him. He has His best in store for you, and He won’t fail to deliver it. But you need to remove the anxieties from your heart so He can do all He has planned to do. He wants your whole heart. Cast all your worries and burdens on Him, for He cares for you. He loves you and is so full of truth. Run your race in faith, and He will not fail to give you complete peace.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting ALL your care upon Him, for He cares for YOU. - 1 Peter 5:6-7
Abide in Faith - 1 Corinthians 13:13
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. - Romans 5:1-2
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