Walk It Out in Faith

Matthew 14:29, "So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31) And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

I'm writing this post from my own experiences in my walk of Faith that, to others, may seemingly be confusing at times, but that's OK. The only one who really truly needs to be completely aware of my walk, my faithfulness is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is in control of my life. My life story keeps evolving into story-lines that only God can write and I'm trying very hard not to take the proverbial "eraser" and change the parts of it that's uncomfortable or that I don't like because either I'm growing weary of waiting and being patient or I want the outcome to be what I want and faster. We've all been there. We've all done that. We've all tried to write our own stories. The problem with that is simple. We don't KNOW our story until we begin to live and experience it. If we write our stories without Jesus, then it's from the flesh and the flesh is sinful. That would produce a very empty and unsatisfying story with a sad ending. Sure, some of our stories rely on our positive or negative choices but God has went before us and knows us. He knows the story from beginning to the end and with the kind of Author He is, well, I'd say it's much wiser to allow Him to remain in control of the pen and story-line and continue to write our stories for us! Faith is very hard sometimes to remain in but that's why we have a Savior in the first place! To run to. To cry to. To fuss to. To repent to. To feel secure in. To love and who loves US. 

Faith Grows When You Trust Jesus

I'm going to start off with my battle in my job situation. As many who have followed my journey already know, this particular job I knew was from the Lord and although I've had many battles, many heartaches, many disappointments, cried too many tears and had many "attacks" formed against me from the enemy, I never felt this was where He was going to end my career. By that I mean, I didn't feel this was the place I'd remain until I retire or the Lord calls me home. While I continued to battle and pray for the Lord to fight my battles and for His protective armor to be placed around me, I slowly began to watch others begin to fall in different ways, those who had been either attacking me or being forced to come against me. I remained faithful. I remained telling the truth boldly standing on the Rock, fighting for the rightness of things even when it wasn't popular to do so and even when it isolated me because it wasn't going with the flow of the crowd. It was very frustrating and very painful. Still is to a degree but now on very different levels. I'm the last one standing from my office. I'm holding onto my faith and to my Savior as tightly as I can during this new storm that I am facing and that has been thrust upon me. But as with all the others that were no fault of my own, I must endure and keep my Faith while remaining obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Remaining obedient is a key to this stage in the storm which I will get to in a moment. This field that I've been placed in has been been an amazing blessing to me in so many varying degrees and I've not only learned a great deal about the mental health community, but I've met some amazing, caring and knowledgeable individuals! Social workers, Case Managers, clients and family members, Court Clerks and community partners. 

Recent changes have occurred within my region which left me in somewhat of a limbo position. I won't go into the details regarding these changes because it's too long and would distract from the subject at hand, but ultimately, it effected my position and me the greatest. Everything I've done for the past 4 and a half years, is no longer my job as I don't have a "team" to assist and support any longer. The upper management who made and implemented these changes, didn't really give much thought to my position or how it would change or how it would effect me and this office. If they did, well, they just didn't share it with me, the one who remained dedicated and loyal through some of the most difficult of times. But I digress. So, because of what I foresaw and currently foresee coming down the pike, I've started ramping up my job search in a much greater way. I'm not being utilized to my potential in the menial tasks they have me doing at this moment while on the other hand, a few of the tasks are not within my skill sets due to some of the complexities of the spreadsheets. As a matter of fact, when I was told I would be in charge of "x" I immediately voiced my concerns over not being able to do it and that I have limited experience with it. It didn't matter. There was a "smirk" and then a statement that followed telling me it was part of my job now. I knew what this meant. To be clear, I have no member of my organization in MY physical location. It has been reduced to ONLY ME. No team. No supervisor. No co-workers. The only time I had interaction with my "current" supervisor was when I needed to call off or request time off. Nothing else. No directions. No training. No interactions. No checking in to see how things are going. No visits. Not. A. Thing. I'm a very ethical person and since ultimately my boss is a Jewish Carpenter, Jesus Christ, I continue to remain ethical and work at the tasks given to me. It is not however, where I am comfortable staying for many reasons. 

Some of the people that work in the building I am located in have been the same people who watched all of these things unfold over time and who knew me better than even the people in my own department did. None of these people are affiliated with the department I am with but just in the same building. They know I'm currently applying and interviewing. And this is where remaining obedient comes into play and just how the enemy uses the words of others to try to implant negative thoughts to try to make us doubt our Faith, our God and our decisions. I've recently had some interviews with a few offers. I have also had to turn down a few interviews due to them not offering health insurance or retirement or the commuting distance I hadn't factored in when I applied. It is here where I will inject that it's very important to me, in my walk, and with my faith, to heed the Holy Spirit's voice when I'm making decisions and for the most part, and the majority of my endeavors, I pray for guidance first above everything else. So when I suddenly "know" something is not for me, or is not from the Lord, I must do my due diligence in obeying His voice! I've made a few career decisions in my distant past that I did not heed the Holy Spirit's voice and took something because the money was good, or some other perk I justified in my head. Both of those positions did not turn out well and I've learned a hard, yet valuable lesson and never looked back. To those around me, to those I've shared this journey with and my excitement and/or disappointment, I'm sure are frustrated by me turning down a job, declining interviews or simply asking to be removed from consideration from a very recent possible prospect. Aside from the few that didn't offer the insurance or retirement plan, were positions that were clearly not for me on any level. Naturally, I prayed about each one before making the contact. 

With that said and the background of this battle, to be clear, I ask the Lord to show up in each interview or thereafter so I know the direction He is, and isn't, leading me into! He hasn't failed yet! I've prayed in the same way for those positions that I have been rejected for that I really thought I wanted, or would've been great at, or that I was qualified for, but He showed up He closed those very same doors because He knows what I don't know. He sees what I don't see. He went where I haven't been yet. Yes I was disappointed and discouraged, mostly because rejection isn't easy, but also because my desire to work where I can make an impact was found in a few of those rejections that I would come to find out later, I was thankful that God did close those doors tightly! Up until recently, many people were rooting for me. Many people were encouraging to me. Then, and only when I began voicing what I knew was not God's direction, I began to receive negative comments. "So exactly what job WILL you accept?" "You can't be that picky, no job is perfect." "If you want/need out so bad, why don't you take something while still looking?" The comments didn't stop. I stayed true to my faith and always answered that I knew something wasn't from the Lord and that when things got really chaotic, I noticed the enemy was present. I would let them know God will lead me where He wants me, when He wants me to go and I have Faith, fully, that He will let me have an internal peace about the job He does have for me, but that's I must obey what I hear and feel in my spirit until that happens. John 10:27-28, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28) And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

It takes me back to when my central heat and air unit went out and I suffered through heat and cold before God showed up. He showed up just in time. He also prompted me to send in my prayer request and the first night I didn't heed His voice, but the second day I did! The result of that hardship and struggles can be found here. Although my job search journey is taking longer to move towards, I am still employed and able to pay my bills. Not much else and I can't save, but I'm blessed to be able to keep a roof over my head nonetheless! I know there are those who don't have the same kind of Faith and endurance that I've had to have but once again, I know there are those who are watching, learning and possibly being silently encouraged in how I'm handling this career crisis. God will move me in due time. His time, not mine. I've had to walk so many things out in Faith in my life and I'm not going to sugarcoat any of it, it was HARD. It still IS hard. The current situation I'm battling, and have for some time, is a season of testing and growing. I believe I can honestly say that I can see that now because I'm sensing I will be seeing an end to this season in the upcoming weeks or months. I've looked over the past 10-12 months and have been absolutely stunned at what I've had to endure but through it, through all of it, I've grown. I've changed. I've been tested. I've been blessed. Maybe when my new opportunity arises from the many doors that have been closed, I will have a little bit of a break from all of the stress and hardships that I've fought through. All I can say is that I truly, sincerely pray that someone who saw any of it, or who watched from a distance silently, or even who may have heard my testimony, has been touched or has hope where they didn't believe any existed before. Sure I've gotten worn down and discouraged along the journey but I'm human. We all are humans with feelings. Being a Christian though, gives hope where there is none. Gives life to death. Gives peace in chaos. Gives love in a world of hate. Gives victory where there is loss. My hope is in the Lord. I must walk it all out in Faith before the world so they know who is in control of my life. I must remain obedient to His voice so I don't walk into the darkness. They don't understand why I removed myself from consideration in one job, turned down two others and didn't interview for a few others. It's because I heeded the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding me through this process. I had complete peace in every single decision. 

Waiting on the Lord Produces Strength!

As hard as it may be, and get, I will wait upon the Lord! Isaiah 40:31, "But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." Those words are music to my ears because my strength, the very strength that others always commend me on, is found in Jesus! I, as a wretched soul, am nothing without Him! As it is in our lives, we don't really like to take any risks, for many reasons ranging from anxiety to fear of failure. Being risky in life seems takes us out of our comfort zone, the safe zone we've created, but often times are stagnant in. That's the human side of us. Risk equals fear and failures. But as Christians, life is risky just being a Christian who professes their faith from the rooftops! But that's the greatest part of the Christian life. You see, we know that with any small or large step we take in Faith the Scripture says that our hope is in Jesus Christ who won't let our foot slip! A great example is Moses. He was minding his own business tending his sheep as a shepherd and God spoke to him from the burning bush!!! Can you imagine his reaction! God called him to deliver the children of Israel because of how cruelly they were being treated in Egypt. But those of you who are familiar with Moses, remembers his response. In a nutshell, Moses said he couldn't do it, he didn't speak very well and was concerned that nobody would believe him. God asked Moses what he had in his hand and Moses looked down at his shepherd's rod and said, "A stick." A stick! God would eventually use that very shepherds rod, a simple stick, to bring water from a rock, split the Red Sea and to deliver an entire nation from the hands of Pharaoh! You see, God used what Moses was already doing, something he was GOOD at, to do what only God could do! This is a wonderful lesson for each of us because even though I know my time is nearing, I also know there have been some things I've been needed for during this time. There have been some people to cross my path and me to be put in their path. We really must remember that wherever we are at the moment, God will use whatever is in our "hands" to accomplish His purpose....if we trust Him and allow Him to do so! Moses walked it out in Faith in the most spectacular way. It should be encouraging to us when we need to do the same thing. He will use what we are good at, wherever we're at, to do what He needs us to do, meet who we need to meet and say what we need to say. 

Waiting upon the Lord is a timing thing. To many in the world of speed and technology, patience isn't part of their vocabulary. God made it part of mine! It is an integral part of our walk in faith without a doubt. Waiting is difficult. It's frustrating. It's even sometimes discouraging. But the beauty of it all is the lessons we learn through each moment that we endure! You see, it's when we wait on the Lord, we begin trusting the Lord more and more, to do something that we can't see, don't understand or know about. Then, all of the sudden, He shows up and we hear Him tell us exactly what to do, when to do it and how to get it done! When we don't wait on the Lord, when we jump ahead of Him or His timing, when we push aside His best and His will for us, we soon discover there are consequences of failing to wait, failing to listen and failing to follow. Now don't get me wrong, waiting doesn't mean you just sit idly by doing nothing. That's not what God means when He instructs us to wait on Him. He wants our faith to grow. He wants us to trust Him more. He wants us to grow closer to Him. He wants us to do our best, be our best for the Kingdom right where we are and not waste precious time. He wants us to be proactive. In my case, I must look for work and apply to those jobs, interview in order to do my due diligence while I wait for the right time, for the right opportunity and for His voice to rise above my own, the enemy's and others who try to discourage what is best for me. There is something very powerful in our determined stillness to walk in complete obedience to God that ultimately results in the best of His blessings. Psalms 27:14, "Wait upon the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!" There are many examples throughout the Bible of waiting on the Lord and remaining obedient to Him. In every case, in every scenario, the blessings were received on the other side of the trial. The Bible has given us so many examples of how chosen men and women of God had to wait for what seems like an eternity for His Promises to come to fruition, but the point is, the DID come to fruition! God doesn't lie and He doesn't break His promises! Not EVER. 

Sometimes, the Lord may wait until a situation is dead! Until it's completely hopeless! Until there's no end in sight! He waited in many instances throughout Scripture and He will do so again in our present day. What we need to remember, and some need to understand is when God does things and fulfills His promises to us, He does it in a big way so that He receives all the glory! Just as He did with my central heat and air unit! Just as He did by miraculously healing my cyst in my brain! Just as He did when I had my accident. It's going to be the same for when the door is swung open for my opportunity. It'll be something I never imagined. But while I'm waiting, I'm working in the Kingdom and planting seeds, shining Light into the darkness and being an encouragement to whoever He places in my path. During our waiting period, our faith may falter, it may wane, it may not even be non-existent at some point. Don't give up. Don't let the enemy win because he has been defeated. It's at those lowest times when we need to seek His face even more! We need to hold onto His promises with a tighter grip! It's here that I will also bring up the faith of David and how he waited upon the Lord! There were many long years in between the time when Samuel anointed the young David to be king and when he actually became king. So many trials and tribulations ensued in the interim. It was a difficult time for David. Even Saul relentlessly sought him with several attempts to take his life. The operative word is "attempts." David was even betrayed by his own son, Absolom. He ultimately left his throne and ran for his life. Even though the Bible says David was a man after God's own heart, things got so hard for David! But you see, David loved the Lord with all of his heart, he sought after Him, and worshiped Him continually throughout all of the hardships that he faced and through all of the trials he had to endure. We know many of the Psalms were written by David expressing how he loved, trusted, and waited on the Lord. Even though he was a man after God's own heart and he loved Him, trusted Him and waited on Him, we know he wasn't without sin. God knew that too but loved how David loved Him in the way that David did! This is a beautiful example of God’s grace and mercy! An example all of us going through trials, tribulations and waiting periods should remember! He extends the same to us!!! 

To repeat the Scripture above, Isaiah 40:31, "But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint." This says we shall renew our strength which literally means that our strength will sometimes be depleted, wane, weaken. We might even fall a time or ten and scrape our knees in the process. This is expected as none of us are perfect no matter how hard we try! But the important thing here to remember and learn is that we must repent, ask for His forgiveness and grace, get back up, brush the dust off of our knees and feet and wait upon Him! We must wait in obedience and walk it all our in Faith! While we wait, we shouldn't be unproductive! Nobody likes to wait, especially in the fast world we live in today! Think about being in a traffic jam on the highway in the rush hour traffic on a hot Summer's day. This can be draining. Exhausting. Frustrating. Anxious. In some people, it can even cause anger. Once that wait is over, and you're on your way, all of those "feelings" subside as traffic begins moving along, but you feel like you can go straight home and go take a nap! So, exactly what does it really mean to wait on the Lord? "Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." If you actually dig into that word “wait” in the Hebrew which is "qavah (H6960)" it literally means, "to bind together." Interesting isn't it? 
קָוָה qâvâh, kaw-vaw’; a primitive root; to bind together (perhaps by twisting), i.e. collect; (figuratively) to expect:—gather (together), look, patiently, tarry, wait (for, on, upon).

This same word can be found in Psalm 27:14, "Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!" Let's think about that for a moment. First of all, “to bind together” doesn't mean us sitting in a corner, waiting patiently, sitting idly by or being quiet. Actually, it doesn't even mean that we just wait for God to answer our prayers/requests in a few days or weeks or months. What this does mean is binding together WITH Him. It tells us in this way that those who “bind together” WITH Him shall renew their strength. Essentially what Isaiah is telling us here is that we’re getting our strength renewed by being very close to the Lord. Let's look at John 15:5, where Jesus tells us, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." In this verse, "I am the vine, you are the branches" is actually us binding ourselves to Him. It's about us being intertwined with Him which is where we gain our strength. Where we see fruits of the Spirit. We can't bare fruit by being spiritually idle, spiritually stunted. Waiting is supposed to be productive and makes us draw closer to the Lord to bring our presence into His. 2 Corinthians 3:17, "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." That’s also the very place that we can hear Him more clearly. Let's face it, if you're 50 to 100 feet away from your best friend who is speaking in their normal tone and volume, you're not going to be able to hear what they are trying to say to you. But, if you're just a foot or so away, you will be able to hear every word they speak to you clearly and precisely. The closer we get to the Lord, the easier it is to discern and hear His voice and not confuse it with our own desires or the enemy's futile attempts at planting seeds of doubt.His voice is the only one that matters, and yes, sometimes, He will speak words through others that He send to us to deliver the message, but you will know it's from Him! No doubts!  

Listen for His Voice

When the Lord calls us into a consecrated, mission-filled life, there are steps that follow in order for us to be able to fulfill His will and calling. It's not easy. It's not without a lot of bumps, bruises and trials. This post is for those who are are trying to obediently follow the will of the Lord, with the casual trips and stumbling of our sinful nature, and for those who are being prepared for what lies ahead that has been prepared by the Lord God Almighty! It's for those who are staying obedient as much as possible, always relying on the Lord for  their strength, direction, patiently waiting for His answer or His voice to guide, and for those who hear an instruction, who will do it without question and trusting fully that all the necessary tools and provision will be given unto them for that sole purpose. As the Lord speaks about a consecrated life, He often times compares it to building a house. In building a house, it takes a solid, firm foundation FIRST. Without that, everything else that would be put on it and in it, would ultimately crumble. Eventually washing away. So the first step in this process is laying the foundation and THAT foundation is JESUS CHRIST! Any foundation other than Jesus Christ will not stand! All others will wash away. Matthew 7:24-25, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25) and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock." As you can see, He tells us clearly that our Faith that is built upon the Lord Jesus Christ is our solid foundation that will not fall through any storm, any wind, and any flood! However, if we don't build our foundation upon the Lord Jesus Christ, He tells us in the next two verses, in Matthew 7:26-27, "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27) and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." He definitely makes it clear that whoever doesn't build their house upon the solid foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ will be as a foolish man building it upon the sand.....meaning anything else OTHER THAN JESUS! See? There's only ONE way but TWO choices. Believe and build your house upon the rock of Salvation OR turn from the Lord and do it the way that you want to build your house. I've been near a raging ocean before and the power of it is immense! I wouldn't want my foundation made of sand! 

As we enter into our walk of Faith with God, the steps begin to unfold, and oftentimes, this is the most difficult part and is where our character is molded, our strength is found and we find what we are made of in the face of adversity. Part of His preparation, if you will. He'll allow each of us, individually, to experience trials, hardships, testings, miracles, and many difficult challenges in our life that are intrinsically designed to provide us those undeniable "faith experiences." Faith experiences are demonstrated tangible evidences of His work, His Hand, His guidance, in our life! Something that clearly cannot be denied or misunderstood. We may not know they are faith experiences while going THROUGH them, but we WILL know they were when we come through the storms! Amen! Some of the biblical "faith experiences" were the likes of Moses's' burning-bush experience which I mentioned above, Peter's walk on the water, Joshua's parting of the Jordan River. ALL of these built faith in each one individually. Now remember, each one was SPECIFIC to the individual for the purpose and the will of the Lord. Maybe Joshua's parting of the sea wouldn't have affected Moses the way the burning bush did! The depth, width and height of our calling is directly, and precisely, proportionate to the faith experiences that God allows in each of our lives. And our bad choices can come into play at this level because when we're making bad choices, it's out of disobedience and God will allow our discipline to take form in the shape of yet another trial. Even if it's our own doing. When God is the center of the mission/job/task/activity He will bless it every step of the way! Those blessings can come in many forms, in many ways and through many different people. It all depends on His plans for you and how willing you are to go forth with complete FAITH and TRUST to do His will and follow His calling! If the Lord has called you to do something, then remember, He will ALWAYS provide the means, the provisions (whatever they may be for you individually) the tools, the skills and the guidance! He will protect you, light the path when it appears dark, give you comfort when you are feeling afraid, give you strength when you are weak and discouraged. He will hold you when your spirit is crying out! When trials, bruises, bumps and tribulations come at you from every direction while you're walking in obedience, and they most assuredly WILL, don't doubt the Lord! Embrace them because it's all for the good of your walk! Don't try to figure out the "whys" and the "how's" and the "what's" of any situation because sometimes He doesn't want us to know. 

The blessings will also happen DURING the storms, DURING the trials, bruisings and tribulations! These moments of hardship and testing and trails and tribulations that I'm going through and have been going through for awhile, ALL have had blessings bestowed upon me in many different ways! Spiritually I've been blessed because I've seen His hand on many things as I've surrendered to His will even when it didn't make sense to ME! I've been blessed emotionally and even financially when a bill needed to be paid and I wasn't sure where that money would come from to pay it! I'm BOLDLY going to say that I have always known His presence in every situation that the Lord had me face to get me where I am today! He is ALWAYS there, right beside me, through every storm, every corner, every dark alley. Whether we like it or not, or whether we want to ever face up fully to this reality in this fallen world, in this temporary life, every single one us, saved or unsaved, will have to face a certain amount of conflict, adversity, trials and tribulations as we take our journey through this life we have been given here on earth. There are absolutely no exceptions to this cold, hard, brutal fact. The difference is, the saved have Jesus Christ guiding their way, comforting their hearts and giving them hope. Whereas the unsaved have the enemy guiding theirs where there is no hope, no comfort and only torment or momentary immediate satisfaction that is temporal in nature. The unsaved won't experience the "faith experiences" that I'm speaking of until they have made the decision to accept the free gift of salvation! The saved, however, will experience them throughout their journey! In many "faith experiences" that we will encounter in our walk, the best way to prepare for them is to listen for the voice of God, hearing what He is instructing us to do, to remain obedient, faithful, prayerful, and watchful, no matter what challenges, difficulties or trials you will undoubtedly face. 

Faithfulness produces a bountiful harvest of blessings and joy. In Genesis 22:1–12, we read of Abraham's faithful response. He has just been told by God Himself, that his offspring will become God’s own chosen people, and is totally prepared to make the most gut-wrenching, heart-crushing sacrifice imaginable to any human being and parent, as God commands him to make a burnt offering of his only son, Isaac. See, when God calls out, "Abraham!" Abraham simply answers, "Here I am!" When Abraham then receives God’s instruction to slaughter his own beloved, flesh and blood son as an offering, that simple "Here I am" of obedience guides him as he prepares for the sacrifice. His radical faithfulness is rewarded when at the last possible moment, God intervenes to spare Isaac. What a testimony of FAITH! And at the same time, this was one of the most intense, yet beautiful, examples of a "faith experience." Here is Genesis 22:1-12 in its entirety for those who don't know the story!

"Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2) Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3) So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4) Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5) And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad[a] and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” 6) So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7) But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8) And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. 9) Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10) And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11) But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12) And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

It was once said, "Great fights will come great faith." This simply means that you can't develop great faith in the Lord unless you have had your faith tested, developed and strengthened with some great fights first! Many children in the Body of Christ have had their personal relationships with the Lord severely damaged as a result of not being able to fully understand why God will allow adversity in their lives in the first place! It's important to note that He did not promise us a life full of fluff and blessings and riches of the WORLDLY kind, which is what many is after. He didn't promise us a life that wasn't full of trials, testing, storms or tribulations. As a matter of fact, we are told quite the opposite so it might be a good idea if they read the following: Matthew 10:22, "And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved." And also John 15:18-21, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19) If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20) Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21) But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me." As a result, you have many wounded soldiers in the flock that are going out to battle, in the battlefield, who can't seem to get themselves back onto God's playing field from the dugout where they are now sitting. This is a direct result of not being able to get over the severe adversity which may have just struck them and their family. The enemy wants this more than anything! To keep the children of God living in the past, remembering pains, remembering their darkness's. This only holds you back and keeps you down. It hinders your testimony and it hinders the way the Lord will be able to use you. 

In closing, it will be only through your faithfulness, prayerfulness, your watchfulness and your trustfulness that will prepare you well for the encounters with God in many, many ways. Your future will be enriched greatly as a result and you will be richly blessed! Express your gratitude to Him for His blessings, for the trials, for the hardships and His ultimate role in your life as you surrender to His will and to His plans for you! Most importantly, let Him know that you are here to serve Him, utilizing your unique spiritual gifts, unique experiences and that you are willing to do what it takes no matter how difficult the journey may be in whatever way He leads you! Be prayerful in discerning His will for your life, but don't get discouraged if it isn't automatically revealed in YOUR time. He will speak to you in different ways in preparation of a greater mission. Be receptive to His calling and His divine guidance and intervention! And, as so many Biblical characters have in the Bible, and as I do every day, completely give yourself over to Him by declaring, boldly and without fear, "Hear I am!" Remain obedient to His voice and don't allow the enemy to plant any seeds of doubts through others or in your own fearful thoughts. Walk it all out in Faith and Trust that He will Light every step of the journey! If you don't learn to be patient, maybe you won’t be able to see the hand of God working in your life. Our trust in God and our hungry anticipation of His loving activity in our lives shows Him, and others around us who are watching, our faith in His goodness. Our faith in His goodness! Yes! We need to set aside our own abilities and sufficiency to fully rely upon Him. The more we draw near, the more we know Him, the more we learn and know His WAYS, and mediate on His Holy Word, the easier it becomes to wait upon Him, to be obedient to Him and to hear His voice. If God seems to be taking a bit more time than you would like Him to take to act on your behalf, don't despair! 

He knows. He knows best. He sees. He sees it all. He has gone before us. He has prepared the way. He has lit the path with His Light. He loves you! So remember, when you're battling the hills of this life, when you're waiting on the Lord to show up, when you're obeying the voice of the Holy Spirit, WALK IT ALL OUT IN FAITH AND YOU WILL NOT LOSE YOUR FOOTING NOR WILL YOU LOSE YOUR WAY! 

ISAIAH 30:18, "THEREFORE THE LORD WILL WAIT, THAT HE MAY BE GRACIOUS TO YOU; AND THEREFORE HE WILL BE EXALTED, THAT HE MAY HAVE MERCY ON YOU. FOR THE LORD IS A GOD OF JUSTICE; BLESSED ARE ALL THOSE WHO WAIT FOR HIM." 

AMEN!
  

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