It’s been a while since I’ve had a really decent devotional that hit me between the eyes, and it’s a major “God Wink”. The reasons for that are because I’ve been on this “trip” for a while now, and the Lord expects me to just “go with it”–all that He’s given me so far, and “live” off of that. But as I have told Him many times, His daughter needs to be “fed” and encouraged several times throughout this very l o n g Season of Waiting; I cannot just go on what He told me two years ago, and leave it at that. Yes, it’s a weakness; I admit that. I NEED to know things as they are happening from time to time, but I also have to remember that this is a FAITH WALK, and in a FAITH WALK such as this one, I cannot “see” much of anything, lest it wouldn’t be FAITH now, would it?
So as I was traveling to the school late last week to put in some work hours, I was trying to practice my singing in the car, to get ready for doing worship on Sunday. I said to the Spirit that it would be nice to have devotionals that really “hit the target”; most of them haven’t lately, or would be the same ones I’ve seen before , and wouldn’t give me the “boost” I’ve needed after all that’s happened to me recently.
Well, the Lord DELIVERED one to me that very next morning, and yes, even though I believe it’s one that I’ve seen before, it “just so happened” to be 24 hours AFTER I asked Him, so that DOES count as a “God Wink”!
It was from the Streams in the Desert devotional by L. B. Cowan; it was just the “shot in the arm” that I needed.
So here are the verses that “shine” for me, and gave me the boost of confidence, assurance and encouragement needed–the passages they used came from Mark 11:24: “When you pray, BELIEVE”, and also John 4:50: “Jesus said unto him, ‘Go your way; your son lives.’ And the man BELIEVED the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.”
So no matter how weak or strong our FAITH is, God meets us where we are at. He understands our weaknesses, He realizes how much we go through, for HE is the one who ALLOWS ALL that happens to us. He’s SOVEREIGN, remember? NOTHING gets by Him; all passes through His hands, and He directs it to go as HE wills, and WHEN He wills. The result of this man’s son getting healed by the Lord Jesus, without even being there, AND at the exact TIME the man had asked Jesus to help heal him, was proof enough to that whole household, that the Lord IS God, and all of them became believers. He took that step of FAITH first, and THEN the Lord responded.
When we seek Him out, in both our good times and not just our bad, He WILL respond and help us TO believe in Him. He’s not going to just hand it all to us–FAITH must be utilized; hence the verses in James 2:20-26 speaking about how faith without works is dead. But, one cannot gain wisdom, understanding, growth, knowledge, and spiritual maturity WITHOUT having accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord FIRST in their lives. THAT is the biggest “step of FAITH” one needs to take. BUT, if you don’t take that FIRST STEP, you cannot go further down that road He has paved (in advance!) for you.
Will He help you along the way to further believe, and confirm things in your heart? He sure will! He’s done it over and over again in the Scriptures. He’s done it in the lives of every single true Bible-believing person out there, including ME. WHY would He NOT do it for YOU?? After all, walking in FAITH while having a relationship with the Lord God and His Son Jesus, and KNOWING that you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, to lead and guide you as you live out your new life in Christ, is as important as having oxygen to breathe. Without it, you would die, so I’d say building up your FAITH walk in Christ is pretty important.
READ and STUDY all these verses. You should be reading God’s Word every day. If you don’t know where to begin, start with one of the Gospels, and also go to one of the books in the Tenach–the Old Testament. Go to Genesis, or at least read a Psalm and a Proverb every day. Get to KNOW your Maker, your Redeemer, your Savior and your King, who is also (and should be!) your Best Friend. It’s better to know Him by those attributes, instead of on That Day–the Day of Judgment, having to get to immediately know Him as your JUDGE. That isn’t the Day you want to finally admit to knowing Him (see Revelation 1:7-8). FAITH works, when you take that FIRST STEP towards HIM.
Walking in the Dark with Faith 