As we progress into 2012 we are going to need a good understanding of faith.
I have been preparing for my dissertation and I realise that there are many misconceptions about faith. I have seen how many women have ended up disillusioned when they didn't receive what they had asked for, or believed for. Some have blamed themselves for not having had enough faith, not having confessed enough, not having fasted and prayed enough, and some have been told it's their fault that they didn't receive.
Basically, having faith, especially biblical faith, has an object. That means faith is directed towards something. In our case, towards God. So when we talk about faith, we mean trusting in God.
Proverbs 3:5 says, " Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding..."
Mark 11:22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God."
Our faith should be in God, not in our ability to claim and confess scriptures. Our faith should not be in 'our' faith. Trusting in God and having confidence in God comes from our knowledge of His nature and character as our Father. We trust Him because of who He is, Trustworthy and Faithful. Before God can do anything for us, we need to trust Him out of conviction, instead of trusting Him out of convenience. We need to determine in our hearts whether we receive anything from the Lord, or we don't receive the answers to our prayers, He remains trustworthy.
Sometimes we lean on our own understanding of people, of situations, events, our families, our jobs, our pastors, our children, but that understanding is limited because God is the only One who is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. Often things don't go the way we thought just because we live in a fallen world. We are not exempt from certain painful experiences and the strength of our faith is not in us, but in the One whom we are trusting. So the fact that you might have prayed for someone and they were not healed, or asked God for something and didn't get it, doesn't mean that you don't have faith. It also doesn't mean that you will never get it. Can you imagine if, just because we are children of God, we would be immune to everything and all of us have 100% health and wealth, 100% problem free living, 100% success academically, socially, physically etc. and then those who don't know the Lord yet be the ones who have 100% sickness, 100% poverty and all-round failure, etc. That would be very unreal and very unlike God, and people would want salvation for the wrong reasons, for what they can get, not for who God is. God is good to all and has extended His mercy and love to those who haven't received Him yet.
Keep your heart pure, make sure you are not opening the door for the enemy's attacks by unforgiveness, bitterness, disobedience to God's instructions to you personally and through His word. Should you not understand, keep trusting Him.
God bless you
Pastor Fatima
Sometimes we lean on our own understanding of people, of situations, events, our families, our jobs, our pastors, our children, but that understanding is limited because God is the only One who is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. Often things don't go the way we thought just because we live in a fallen world. We are not exempt from certain painful experiences and the strength of our faith is not in us, but in the One whom we are trusting. So the fact that you might have prayed for someone and they were not healed, or asked God for something and didn't get it, doesn't mean that you don't have faith. It also doesn't mean that you will never get it. Can you imagine if, just because we are children of God, we would be immune to everything and all of us have 100% health and wealth, 100% problem free living, 100% success academically, socially, physically etc. and then those who don't know the Lord yet be the ones who have 100% sickness, 100% poverty and all-round failure, etc. That would be very unreal and very unlike God, and people would want salvation for the wrong reasons, for what they can get, not for who God is. God is good to all and has extended His mercy and love to those who haven't received Him yet.
In 2012, if we face some things we don't understand in different areas of our lives, that is not the time to blame ourselves but to trust in the Lord, that at the end, if we love Him He will work it out for our good. God is not the author of anything evil because He is good. He is not the author of sickness, diseases, pain and heartache, but He promises to see us through. He did not promise us immunity to all things but He promised us strength when we are weak.Matthew 5:45 says, "...for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
Keep your heart pure, make sure you are not opening the door for the enemy's attacks by unforgiveness, bitterness, disobedience to God's instructions to you personally and through His word. Should you not understand, keep trusting Him.
Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."This is a great scripture to remember when you don't understand why things are happening the way they are happening. If it has not been revealed to you, don't try and lean on your own understanding, or someone else's understanding. Wait for Him and keep on trusting in Him. It will never be a question of God's ability, but a question of His greater purposes being worked out in your life.
God bless you
Pastor Fatima
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