Terri's Wellspring

You won’t succeed by might or by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Armies. What a high mountain you are! In front of Zerubbabel you will become a plain. He will bring out the topmost stone with shouts of ‘Blessings, blessings on it!’ ” Zechariah 4:6-7

Have you ever wondered how change was going to come about in a situation that you have been praying about?  You may have vacillated from fear to faith and from confidence to doubt in your feelings.  You have even tried to bring about change yourself.  Trying to strategize or force something even though you have no idea about how to bring it about.  The truth is besides walking in full faith, confidence and trust in God, we have wasted our time.  We can’t force it or bring about change with our own power.  But “It is by Lord’s Spirit” that we have the Victory. We serve a God that can speak to the mountains or obstacles in our lives and flatten them out.  He will clear the path for His children to achieve what they have been called to do.  Let’s put our trust in God.

In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:18

We have so much to thank God for. Walking with a thankful heart often can transform our approach to life and the situations that we face.  Even during our greatest challenges it is important to realize that things could be worse but for God’s mercy and concern for us. Spending time thinking about where the Lord has brought us and His faithfulness to meet our needs is a powerful reminder of God’s goodness to us.

As a young person in college, I used to write down the bills that I owed and keep them in my Bible. The amounts at the time looked so insurmountable but as a tither I believed that the Lord would help me to meet every need. I was able to look at these slips of paper some years later each of them represented a testimony of God’s ability to provide for our needs. I realize now that those experiences helped me to build my faith for what I would need later in my journey. We are so thankful for a Faithful Father for who He is in our lives.

“You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.  Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”  Isaiah 26:3-4

Faith is the evidence of things not seen. This calls us to imagine our situation in a blessed condition even when things may appear to be so far from our prayer. We have to continue to say, act and move forward according to God’s promises – even when the bank balance is low, the doctors report is negative or other disappointments may come our way. Even when we don’t understand, we have to have faith and trust that He is working it out  for our good. Our faithful Father is working on our behalf and He promises to be with us every step of the way. Our Trust is in the Lord.

So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.   Romans 10:17

Some seasons in our lives are intense.  It requires a concerted effort to stay focused on our faith and ignore the many distractions that exist  around us.  The news reports, the doctors test results and maybe our bank statements may be contrary to each of our prayers.  The Word of God provides direction about faith and how to build it along our journey.

We know that “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see”  (Hebrews 11:1)

We know that “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”  (Hebrews 11:6)

The passage from Romans describes how our faith comes from hearing the Word of God.  And the word for “hearing” used in this scripture reflects hearing in a continuous, repetitive sense.  Our faith is built by hearing over and over again about Jesus, our Savior, our Healer, our  provider, our deliver and our comforter.  It builds our faith to hear over and over again that Jesus loves us and is concerned about us. Hearing these truths repetitively through reading God’s Word, hearing the testimonies of believers, surrounding ourselves with songs of encouragement, all help to make us stronger. As we build our faith muscles, we should also think about how to reduce the distractions that are contrary to our faith including the negative people and other destructive influences in our lives. We want to continue to grow and become stronger in our belief in God and our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  I Peter 5:7

Our heavenly Father is concerned about us. It is amazing to me that our awesome God has intimate knowledge about my life. God knows first-hand about my concerns, my problems and even the desires of my heart. Whatever we are facing today – I am so thankful that we can take it to Him and leave it in His hands.

Dear Father-

I am so thankful that You care for me. When I think about the greatness of the universe, I appreciate the attention You give to my life. You are a mighty God and it is a privilege that with every difficulty that You are there for me. No matter how big or small the problem, You are only a prayer away, ready to listen and to help. I appreciate Your complete love and concern for me. We give You honor and glory for this blessing. I thank You for You care for me.

Amen

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”   Galatians 6:9  (New Living Translation)

“Finding Nemo” is one of my favorite movies. It is a story about a fictional father fish whose worst fear comes to past when he loses his son “Nemo”.  Most of the movie is about his journey to find Nemo, despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the life of a big ocean. The movie was made for children and for adults like me who like to find encouragement in most things. During this voyage, the father must overcome fear, keep the faith and trust others to help him. At various points in the story when things seem to be at their worst, his companion on the search for Nemo, keeps repeating the mantra, “Just keep Swimming”. When I ever I hear this phrase, I am reminded the importance of perseverance, resiliency and the need to keep moving forward. Things do get better when we keep putting one foot in front of another and “swim”.  Of course, I love happy endings and this movie concludes with a happy reunion but both father and son learn a lifetime of lessons on the journey, especially to “Just keep Swimming”.

“You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an
everlasting rock.”   Isaiah 26:3-4 

Faith is the evidence of things not seen.  This calls us to imagine our situation in a blessed condition even when things may appear to be so far from our prayer.  We have to continue to say, act and move forward according to God’s promises – even when the bank balance is low, the doctors report is negative or other disappointments may come our way.  Even when we don’t understand, we have to have faith and trust that He is working out for our good. Our faithful Father is working on our behalf and He promises to be with us every step of the way.  Our Trust is in the Lord.

Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. “And remember that I am always with you until the end of time.”  Matthew 28:20

How we face adversity exercises our faith in ways that we can’t imagine.   We have seemingly watched a series of disasters – earthquakes, tornadoes and floods – where communities of people have had to endure the unthinkable.   I listened to a radio interview yesterday of a woman who had recently evacuated her home along the Mississippi River in anticipation of a massive flood of her community.   She shared with the reporter that she had left her home and was likely to lose everything that she had in the flood.  And without missing a beat she said that “God has always provided for me and He always will.”  What a powerful statement of faith. I have never had to face the eminent loss of everything – but I am hopeful that I will stand firm on God’s promise to provide for our needs and that He will be with us always.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.   John 1

My pastor preached about the victory is in my mouth a few years back. The message was about the awesome power we have as believers to speak life into what our seemingly dead situations.  It was a powerful message then and now:

• We want to always speak things that reflect God’s word.
• We need to pray God’s Word that is full of promises to us.
• We need to speak about the answer and not the problem.
• Say the answer so that you can visualize it.
• As you speak these things, apply your faith. Believe God

Many of us are in situations that we want to speak and believe God’s word whether it is in our homes, in our jobs and even our health. We believe that God’s word is a restorer, a way maker, a peacemaker, a wisdom provider and the perfect healer. God is so faithful to honor His word. Together, let us speak victory with our mouths, hearts and minds in every area of our lives.

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.   Hebrews 11:1   New Living Translation

You may be in a season where situations, what you see and hear seems so contrary to the desires for our lives.   Brokenness in relationships, finances, jobs and health seem so common place.  As believers we are compelled to Stay in Faith.  It is easy to say our trust is in the Lord, when everything is moving along fine.  The challenge comes when we appear to be troubled on every side.  Is our first response to recall the promises of God?  Do we remember that He will supply our needs, or that He will keep us in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him?  Do we remember that He said that He would rebuke the devourer for  our sakes?   Do we walk in the knowledge that He is God and He is in Control?  I am working on basing my first response on His word.