LIVING FAITH

I know, I have seen it.

I know of His promises, am even standing on them. Safe and secure

And the actions? In my mind I have been consistent. Tarrying once in a while but a trial is a trial.

I have circulated that meme of upgrading my faith. I have believed it but what is FAITH really? Or let me say Who is FAITH?

You did get me right. Faith is more of a who more than what. Faith is a LIVING THING.

The dictionary defines Faith as the complete trust or confidence in someone or something . Meaning faith has the components of trust and confidence. It also means that you should be in a deep association with this someone or something in order to them/ it the complete trust. Knowing that they can never fail you. That, it is not even a possibility on any balance of preponderance.

In the Bible, Faith is as described in Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

This means that in Faith, you get the to see and touch the things that you otherwise would not. Faith comes with a guarantee. It is the necessary component for hope to exist. It is has a tangible solid presence. I guess that is why Faith is also a prerequisite of hope and love as stipulated in 1 Corinthians 13:13.

Faith is someone you have to feed daily. Faith is something that requires daily exercise or else it will fizzle out and die. Sometimes we end up in spaces where we start questioning God, why did you show me this yet you never willed it to happen? The answer is extremely simple, like I have said it on this blog before, you may see it but it will require a different level of faith to have it. Even our fathers in faith, some of them struggled with it as Hebrews 11:13 says

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”

This means faith has levels. The more you feed faith, the easier to see the manifestation of tomorrow’s promise. Men of great faith have not lived it easy. To walk in bold faith, you generally have to keep increasing your faith. So how does someone exercise and grow their faith? How does someone feed this living thing called faith? Romans 10:17 gives us the way.

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

The Lord has already spoken and His word is already with us. Feed constantly on His word, it is a full diet. Even when you don’t feel like it, hear the word of God. Even when you feel you have heard enough, there is always a new revelation around the corner. When doubts peep in, hear the word of God. When things are going right, hear the word of God. In all times, in all seasons, hear it!! And be willing to act on it. To me, Faith is my work clearly cut out. A work that requires that am constantly hearing the word of God and putting it into actions as faith without works Is dead.

‘For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also‘ ( James 2:26).

This scripture still goes ahead to affirm my earlier assertion that Faith is a living thing for you can’t kill something that doesn’t have life.

That I can do so much more with faith as it will lead me to hope and love so easily is unfathomable.

The beauty about Faith is no matter how small it is, it can accomplish huge tasks but like I said earlier to live BOLDLY in faith, you have to constantly feed faith. Jesus says in Matthew 17:20,

‘And Jesus said unto then, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if yes have faith as a grain of mustard seed, yeah shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you’ (KJV)

Most of us have stagnated in life, both spiritual and physical, since our faith too is stuck in the same place and space. We know fully what God revealed to us but we are unwilling to take the steps that will grow our faith for us to be able to step into our next season of elevation.

Pleasing the Lord too is dependent on faith.Remember in Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) the Bible says,

“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.

As you seek to please the Lord and delight in Him, it is my prayer that you will keep working on feeding this living faith. That you will be ready for your next season by simply hearing the word of God. The Bible did not ask you to listen but to hear.

Avail yourself

Be accountable to and for yourself.

Shalom

Love

Deb.

NOTE: This is a post that has been pending for a while. Everyday I write something more. This is not just a post but what I am living out. It is my life story. It is what I do everyday.

Peace, Be still

I hate not being in control. I hate being in a situation and not being able to do anything. Bottom line, I hate being helpless. I hate it when I feel I need something to happen, someone to show up, situations to change, but it just does not.

I love being in control. Visualizing and making things happen. Reaching far beyond and achieving. I love it when things go my way, Who doesn’t? I love it when seasons are in favour. And when they are not I question the reason why. .

I do not know how to give up or give in. I better choose to throw my hands in protest than just sit and be calm. I know my rights and I will fight for them till the bitter end.

But

God had been teaching me otherwise. To shut my mouth when I really think I should not. To sing a song of praise when in my mind I should be pointing fingers. To be grateful when the situation is only bringing out bitterness. To need, but only need Him. To acknowledge that I do feel empty, and that only Him can feel that void. To relinquish control cause Babe, He got all this figured out even before I was born. Why am I running ahead of myself.

What is stillness? The dictionary defines it as the absence of movement or sound. It goes beyond silence. It requires discipline. It means you are in one position and I often use the Hebrews 12:2 The fixing… Your eyes are fixed on the author, absolutely no movement, no sound. It gives you a chance to focus. A chance to internalize, a chance to just see the picture as it is. No additions, no filters.

In the stillness, a peace, a certain kind of tranquility sweeps over. You are ready for it. Resisting the devil and watching him flee comes with a certain level of submission, mastery and stillness. Be ready to look dump in this season since everyone is expecting a reaction. But who cares, the things of God will never make sense to anyone who is not in Him. Remember Stillness is a quality of just being

Stop getting caught in the rat race. I have been caught up in the dogma more times than I would love to admit.Allow God to grant you rest. But, that can NEVER happen when so many voices are speaking. Be still and allow the only voice that Matters to speak.

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” – Psalm 46:10

In prayer, do you ever reach the still place? Where you stay still for the master to speak or you just pour out your problems and other people’s problems then conclude with a hurried Amen and off you go? Most of the time, God’s voice is usually swallowed by the thunder in our life that we never get to hear it. Remember Elijah?
Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. ( 1 Kings 19: 11-12)

You can only experience God in your stillness. Anxiety, stress, pain, depression takes a back seat once stillness sweeps over. You draw near to God, and, the more nearer you are, the more His voice can be heard with clarity. The raging storm will calm down once the master says ‘ Peace, Be still”. You can only hear His voice and see His hand in everything once the noise surrounding you is done with. Noise can be physical and spiritual: Verbal and nonverbal. You may not be verbal, but you may be making too much noise with your actions and distractions that the Holy Spirit cannot be heard clearly. That God cannot penetrate to you. That He has to fight for your attention. You may be the one blocking the flow of conversation with God. We cannot enter into His stillness till when we quiet the clatter.
He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Psalm 107:29

Even when His manifest presence goes before you, He requires you to be Still.
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14

It has been my heart’s desire as well as my goal to stay still at His feet. Sometimes life becomes so fast that we end up doing things that everyone else is executing and consciously forgetting to do as Christ desires. Even in Ministry. We end up with good deeds that are not God deeds and are too drained to do anything meaningful. All this can be avoided by just being still.

Stillness will provide rest. A sweet rest in Christ’s bosom. Safety is part of the deal and all you need is to focus on just being and becoming.

God loves you

God has all this figured out

Be still and watch Him work His mistakes.

Peace.

Be still.

Love

Deb

It Is Not As Easy As They Say

Allow me to be very bare with you today.

So much has been written about waiting on God and what He requires. I, too, have written about it. However, I do not want to paint a picture that it is easy. But, If it doesn’t cost you then you can be sure it is not worth it. I just want to address this cost that no one wants to speak about since we deem ourselves to be so perfect.

Well, I am Not. It is just the Christ in me that is working on me daily to perfect me. Some days, I am so stubborn, needing more straightening than others but you know am just a Work in Progress. Am still in the process of heading to ‘Well done, Good and faithful servant, Enter into my perfect peace ‘ which is my ultimate goal.

Why did I get inspired to write this today? Well, God had been working on me seriously. I have been having internal fights with Him and at a point I got angry at Him. Often, our fights come when we have a sit down but He always wins. We do reason together as in Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord . Understanding and wisdom is always my portion after this and that is the main reason why I love these moments. I get to try Him and He delivers.

Back to my point: Ever felt so comfortable and fulfilled where you are. In life, in ministry, in your career, in Business as well as in a relationship with your God? That feeling of contentment when even the yearning to have a partner is no longer an issue since you are in an intimate relationship with Christ and three would be a crowd? That space where you don’t want to see or be seen?

Then all of a sudden someone ‘sees’ you. And you go back to God like, ‘we agreed’

He just nods. And you find more excuses, ‘But am not ready ‘. And He says Go.

You Obey since you know delayed obedience is still disobedience.
Now I am of the opinion, you send me. Fix the other person…

It is not easy. The obedience of the other party counts as well and if they are not in the same place as you with the Holy Spirit leading, Born again, get ready for issues.

Some of these issues need prayers while others will require you to flee. And that’s the point where, if you dare walk in flesh (it is so tempting), you will fail terribly. And something God ordained can take a detour simply because you chose to think for yourself.

Spiritual things require spiritual solutions.

I am glad I was arrested before I chose to take my thinking, else, I would be writing a different story. Full of finger pointing and pain.

I have come to understand that patience is not about that time but the attitude you keep when you are waiting on God to fulfill His promise. You may have seen the promise but sometimes we get stuck in the process that the promise does not look attainable.

I felt like this process has been too long, close to three years now and it doesn’t seem to look like it is coming to an end soon. I felt like I have been up and down this same spot and I can’t seem to learn my lesson so am stuck in a situation where I have outgrown but the other party still wants to play. And am wondering, why can’t God just fix the other party so we can get going, that this wheel can start rolling to the right direction? The truth is I felt like a rocking chair, there is movement but you are going nowhere. The good thing about feelings is that they change once subjected to a different stimulus. Mine happens when I lay it bare to the one who created me.

God’s word tells me that love is patient, kind , humble and not easily angered. What they didn’t tell you is that the situation you will be in won’t be one where you will naturally be kind. Your limits will be pushed to a place where humility and patience will be the first to go out of the window then anger and unkindness will come through the open door. The difference is as, I had earlier stated, this time I was angry at the one who skews my heart. I wanted answers right then but we all know you can not really arm twist God. He speaks when your heart is ready to listen.

By your own strength, you will mess up everything but when you allow the Spirit of God to come on in, He will shut you up when you need to be shut up and work on your heart. This, when you let it, will then grant you a clear picture and break you to the point the the window within which humility and patience flew out in let’s in endurance and forgiveness. Only then will you not keep a record of wrongs.

Kingdom relationships are never easy since the devil makes them his business but when the two of you keep minding Christ’s business and living as Christ would, then each challenge grows you.

As much as I am a work in progress, the other party is as well and it is unfair to expect them to be a complete work.

Keep in prayer because it changes you. I have learnt to forgive God and trust in His ultimate plan. He is all knowing. Nothing catches Him by surprise.

…… To be continued…

Of Hearts and Breaks

I know God loves me. I know am an amazing creation and part of His ultimate Plan. I was created for communion and Dominion. Worshipping Him in everything and with everything is my desire

It is very easy when you are young and still growing in faith to only accord Him the worship He deserves when things seem to go your way. But as you mature, you come to learn that all that happens is geared towards your good.

I have had the tantrums phase, the anger phase, the denial phase and the acceptance phase when it comes to my relationship with God. All this because the ID was doing its magic.

There are areas especially in the past month that I felt that one of us left (our group). I have wanted Him to come through in the way I prayed. He is God. He hears. He knows. I should ask and He should give. I should knock and the door shall be opened. Doesn’t He say that in Matthew 7:7?

I have learnt that He will not be moved by emotion but only by His word and obedience to it. He is God, all knowing and nothing catches Him by surprise. Prayer can never take the place of obedience. He chooses what to do and when to do it. But, as long as you are called to His purpose and are in His will, it will always be for good.

The more I have been in constant focus of Him, the more the distractions around me seem useless. The peace He gives in these period now makes me understand the ‘Be still’. Be still goes beyond being quiet. It calls for a higher calmness. It calls for going beyond love and simply trusting. He will take care of you, yes He will.

I am always in constant need of control. I want to be well above situations and master then. I love being in control. He often breaks my heart to show me that I am not. I break down. And in these moments I go deeper in Him. I lay there bare. I lay in total acknowledgement that I am in the potters hands, in my creator’s presence and I am safe. He breaks me down gracefully and I love how He takes this journey with me. I thought I knew love, till when He clothes me with His righteousness. My heart is always at peace not because it is all rosy around me but because I know He is there. With me. Right there.

My heart has been able to experience real love with Him. And I have been able to experience the right breaks with Him. Breaks from dangerous habits. Breaks into places and realms, both physical and spiritual that would not have happened if I had not been gracefully broken. In my weakness, I have seen Him come out strong and there I knew I was not alone. This journey He has me in His bossom.

The closer you get to Him, the more He teaches you to shut down all the noises around and get louder about Him. The more He moulds you in who and what He wants you to be. And the fruit of these becomes very evident.

Breaking forth into new seasons is not easy. Breaking new ground is hard. But the frontiers that await you… When ground breaks, something new is coming up. Something great is just about to happen. Life comes forth. New things happen. Isaiah 42:9, ‘Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them‘

We are talking about God who brought forth water from a rock when the children of Israel needed it. God who provided manna daily. God who protected Daniel in the den of lions. It all comes down to knowing your God. Daniel 11:32 b “but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits”

A heart that is not after God is a heart bound to be broken by the same things it yearns for. It is time to seek the Lord.

Hosea 10:12 , Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you

Only His Promises stand.

Only His love is true.

Only His mercies endureth forever

You better be broken but in His arms.

God bless you.

Much love.

Deb