Yesterday I wrote a bold devotion based on what the Holy Spirit revealed to me in Scripture. I am not entirely there in my faith, but I am growing. I write what I ought to understand, and I am so thankful that the Lord is patient with me. Jesus has given us the authority to speak to evil, and that is just what this pandemic is. Evil. The Holy Spirit indeed works through us to accomplish His purpose, but it is also true that He moves miraculously in response to prayer in times of need. Do the two need to be reconciled? No. Each one of us is at a different level in our faith journey. What we need is respect for each other wherever we are in our walks of faith.
“Accept other believers who are weak in faith,” Paul wrote, “and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong” (Romans 14:1, NLT). If you have mountain-moving faith, never judge someone if they do not have as much confidence as you. Accept them where they are. Encourage them each day to believe in God’s truth—just as every day, I encourage myself. The Word says that without faith, it is impossible to please God. That is Truth. He says that we can tell our mountains to move—that we have His power to rebuke the enemy. But He also says that all we need is faith the size of a mustard seed. The difference between mustard seed faith and supernatural faith is that spiritual growth has taken place. When the Word nurtures that seed of faith, it will flourish abundantly.
You can have supernatural faith, but never tell someone who is growing in theirs that they don't have enough. Flaunting your faith is not grace. It is pride, and it becomes judgment if you are not careful. Encourage someone to grow in faith in the Truth of God's Word, and as you encourage them, you encourage yourself.
The virus is real. It is not a figment of our imagination. But with faith, the Holy Spirit calms any fear within us. We don’t have to fear when we trust God. Peace is in His perfect middle. You can be so fearful that you set yourself up for post-traumatic stress disorder, or you can be so prideful that you flaunt yourself and challenge the advice of medical experts. Fearful or prideful—neither extreme offers His peace in this world.
“When I think of all this,” Paul also wrote, “I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (Ephesians 3:14-19 (NLT).
Stretch yourself to grow in supernatural faith, but allow yourself time to get there. As you trust more in God, your roots will grow deep into His truth and keep you strong. You will be empowered with all His unlimited resources. When you trust Him, you are changed by His Spirit. In His infinite grace, you grow in His power. You learn how full, how long, how high, and deep His love is. And you will not be shaken by what is around you. You shall have His strength in your inner man, and nothing will throw you. Nothing. The Holy Spirit will have transformed and completed you with all His fullness and power.
©2020 Lynn Lacher
www.lynnlacher.com/2020/03/fullness-of-faith.html
No comments:
Post a Comment