Everything that happens to you becomes part of your testimony in Christ. The Bible tells us in Psalm 37:23:
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.”
I want to encourage those of you who are patiently waiting for God to answer prayer by sharing with you an incredible praise report of God’s provision in a way that those of you who think “rationally” or what you deem “realistic” would not have thought would come to pass… Those of you who would have been like one of Job’s friends and would have given me “Job’s friend-like advice” that would have been the opposite of what God wanted or was looking for in Job… If you are believing God for provision, don’t listen to the scoffers, or the naysayers, or the people who tell you, “you are not thinking realistically, look at your situation.” Step out in your faith, and say (as Jesus said these words to Peter) in Matthew 16:21-23:
“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
You see, Peter was looking at the situation with fleshly eyes, not spiritual ones. There are MANY religious people who do not walk by faith, but by sight in what they deem is “realistic.” They say things like:
“Let’s look at this situation ‘realistically’ – what you are asking for cannot be ‘realistically’ done.”
You can choose to either turn your eyes of faith OFF of God and onto the situation, or you can continue to walk BY faith and believe God. You have to determine who it is you are keeping company with, and who it is you choosing to listen to. Are you going to believe God’s Word? Or are you going to believe the word of the world? The world would tell you that it is not possible for the dead to be raised. The world would tell you that it is not possible for a virgin girl to have a baby. The world would tell you that it is not possible for a man to undergo crucifixion on a cross, die and then rise from the dead. The world would tell you that there IS no devil and that demons do not exist… The world would tell you that hell is NOT a real place… If you look at it all “rationally” it is simply not possible. And if you look at life “rationally” you will not find out how wrong you were until you reach the end of your life… I pray that won’t be the case with you who are reading these words.
Throughout the Bible are testimonies of God’s provision. God healing. God answering prayer. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:7:
“For we live by faith, not by sight.”
Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 17:19:
“For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Not only do we have testimony after testimony of God answering prayer, God providing, God blessing and God keeping His hand upon ALL those that belong to Him. When you make a decision to accept Jesus as your Savior, choose to make Him Lord over your life, you too will be able to testify of what God does and has done in your OWN life. How God has kept His hand upon you, and the answers He gives you. God’s ways are not our ways, God’s plans are not always our plans – but God’s plans ARE better! We only have to trust Him! I’m not saying that God always says “yes” to whatever we ask – but if He doesn’t say “yes” it is because He sees the FULL picture of you. He is your Father and He knows what is best for you! The Bible says in Matthew 7:11:
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
He knows what is beneficial for us and that is why we MUST trust in Him! Even during the time where the answer to prayer is “no.” God IS a GOOD, GOOD Father and we can trust Him. We can depend upon Him. He IS faithful and the promises for us in the Bible are truer than true! And I would like to share one of my many testimonies to prove a point and to encourage those of you who may be going through right now. I want you to see from my testimony that you are dependent upon God for answers – NOT people. Now in saying that, God often uses people as His vessels to answer prayer, (both the unsaved and the saved) the Bible says in Proverbs 13:22:
“The wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous.”
God blesses and provides in MANY different ways, however He sees fit. I have found that it is best not to “put God in a box” but to trust Him instead. He is your Father and He knows just what you need. In fact, Jesus made this clear in Matthew 6:25-34:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
When you have given your life over to Christ, your life is no longer your own, it is His. You learn to trust Him in every area of your life, but it is a growth process. If any believer tells you that this is something they don’t (or have not struggled with), they are not being honest. Some days I struggle with my faith in how God will answer prayer, but then I bring my struggle before the Father and I pray that He will help me with my disbelief (or lack of faith in whatever area I am bringing before Him) He forgives me for it and strengthens me. John 20:24-49 tells the story of Thomas:
“Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” “
As many of my readers know, I am a 12 year breast cancer survivor. My first testimony to share in this post, is that God healed me. To say you are in remission, is to doubt that healing is possible. I do NOT believe in remission. In fact, it is an offensive term when it is used towards me. I immediately rebuke the say-er from speaking that in regards to my health. Words are POWERFUL. What you speak over yourself can be either a blessing or a curse. The Bible says in Proverbs 18:21:
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”
In fact the definition of remission is:
“All signs and symptoms of cancer have disappeared, although cancer still may be in the body.”
GOD HEALED ME.
What are you speaking over your life? Over the lives of your loved ones? What you speak is TRULY what you believe. We often need to check our words and have them line up with the Word of God. You may be speaking curses over your life! Ask Holy Spirit to help you check your words!
So, let me speak to those of you who have an illness or sickness – God IS STILL the God who heals. I am a witness of this. God healed me. God not only healed me of cancer, but He healed me of diabetes too! Other’s stories are not your story! Your story is your own! God IS able to heal. Don’t stop believing that God IS able (even when others discourage you from doing so). We live in a fallen world, when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, it brought death, sickness, illness, disease and sin into the world. The world is NOT the place that God originally intended man to dwell in – but once again, our Father with His mercy, grace and love, left the glories of Heaven to come down to the earth and meet us right here where we are at. Born of the virgin Mary, Jesus lived a sin-less life and died a horrible death on the cross as the sacrificial lamb for forgiveness of OUR sins, so that we (through his death and resurrection) would through His death be able to enter into a right relationship with God the Father. THAT is how much the Father loves you. You only have to accept His gift by praying this simple prayer:
“Father God, I thank You for loving me, I thank You for sending Jesus, to die on the cross for forgiveness of my sins. Father, forgive me for my sins. Jesus, please come into my heart, I believe You are the Savior and I choose to accept You and make You Lord over my life. Holy Spirit you are welcome here. Thank You Father, Thank You Jesus, Thank You Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ precious name I pray. AMEN”
GOD IS WITH YOU! No matter WHAT you go through in life. He is RIGHT there with you! The Bible says in Luke 15:10:
” “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” “
When I went through cancer, God worked through the hands of my surgeon and the medical staff, I still went through chemo and radiation and the treatment that the doctors deemed I needed. I believed God for healing, but at the same time I did not worry about what would happen to me – because MY life BELONGS TO HIM. People would ask me:
“Did you think you were going to die? Or worry about dying?”
This was my honest response.
“I won’t lie and say that I wasn’t floored with the diagnosis I had received…”
(Eighty percent of the women diagnosed with breast cancer come from families that don’t have a history of it.)
“But I can honestly say, I was too busy fighting for my life to think about dying. Also, the Bible tells me in Philippians 1:21:
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” “
“I didn’t worry about dying, because I belong to Jesus. He tells me in Exodus 23:26 that:
“The number of my days, He will fulfill.” “
We have no control over when it is time for our days to be over, but when you have made Jesus, Savior, Lord over your life, you know that He is the One that is in control. That is where the “peace that passes ALL understanding” is found. So whether or not God decided to heal me or not – I knew He was with me through it ALL. And to live was indeed Christ. To die would be to gain – as I knew where it was I would be going (Heaven). My trust was not in my situation, my trust was (and still is) in Him.”
I want to speak to God’s provision. Through it ALL God provided for me, everything that I needed. At one point, I was believing God to help me pay my rent after treatment was over. I had promised my daughter that I would NOT move until she had graduated from the high school she had been attending. I was working a full time job and a part time job as a Ministerial Coordinator (and yes, God had opened up the door for that job when I had prayed for provision) to make ends meet. During my daughter’s senior year in high school, the pastor I was working for, had gone on sabbatical and tithes and offerings went down. When he came back, he called me into his office to let me know that they would not be able to continue keeping me on, as they didn’t have the money to pay me. My daughter was 6 months into being a senior and I didn’t know HOW I was going to keep my promise to her! I began to pray for God’s provision. I received a phone call from my mother, indicating that a well known millionaire, Warren Buffet, had posted into the Sunday paper that his foundation was going to give money to those they picked they could bless. At first I said to my mother:
“Oh Mom, there are those who are in such worse shape than I am, do you realize how many letters they will get?”
(Now THAT is a perfect example of NOT walking by faith – but walking “rationally” as some would call it. My mother insisted that I share with the foundation my cancer story. So I did, and in my letter to Warren Buffet, I shared my cancer story with them, having gone through cancer alone – and I also indicated this:
“I made a promise to my daughter, that I would keep her in her current high school before I decide to move. But I have lost income and am believing God for His provision to keep my promise to her. If you can assist, I would greatly appreciate it, but if you don’t choose me, I know God will provide a means for me to keep my promise to her. Thank you for reading my letter and for all God uses you to help.”
Once I prayed over the letter and gave the whole situation to God, I left it in His hands. I truly believed that God would provide in the manner He saw fit. And let me tell you this – over hundreds of letters, Holy Spirit directed my letter into their hands, they read it and chose ME as one of the recipients to help. THAT WAS GOD. They directly paid my landlord 6 months of my rent. God worked THROUGH the foundation to help ME keep my promise to my daughter. Why? Because:
I BELIEVED GOD. I STEPPED OUT IN FAITH. I TRUSTED GOD FOR PROVISION AND ANSWERS. I HELD ONTO MY PROMISES IN HIM.
What are you believing God for? How are you walking? Who are you trusting in? Are you saying you trust Him, but in your heart you are doubting? The Bible says in James 1:6:
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”
It says in James 1:5-8:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Proverbs 3:5 tells us:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
Hebrews 11:1 tells us:
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Listen, God knows what is best for us. God knows what we need. God sees what we go through. We can CHOOSE to trust Him no matter what we face. He may not always answer in the manner that we expect Him to, but that doesn’t mean we don’t trust Him with the answer or with the outcome. We MUST turn our eyes to Jesus and believe Him for answered prayer. Believe Him that the answer – whatever that answer may be. When we pray, “Kingdom of God come, will of God be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” We are living lives submitted to the One who loves us MOST of all. We can TRUST in Him.
For those of us believing God for financial blessings, provision. Everything in this world BELONGS to God, we can’t take it with us when we die, earthly things are just loaned to us, everything belongs to the Father. GOD PROVIDES. Look at the story in Matthew 17:24 -27:
“After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
Our God provides… You CAN believe God and we should believe Him, based upon ALL the scriptures I have listed above. Throughout your walk with Him, you will have testimonies to share (and I hope as I have, that you will too) because they glorify God. Stop looking at people for the answer. Stop listening to ALL the “doubting Thomas'” in your life. Start looking at God, believing God and trusting God. Because He has your very BEST interests at heart. He DOES answer prayer. You simply have to trust Him that His answer is the BEST answer for you, His child. He loves you and He cares. He is sovereign and He reigns. \0/ \0/ \0/
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