Faith: The Substance of Things Hoped For
Today I was reading a dear lady's heart's cry for her unborn child in a post on FB. She is due in two weeks with a son who has anencephaly. My heart goes out to her and my prayers are with her.
I was reminded of my heart's cry to the Lord in the midst of my pregnancy with Nathan.
One particular day stands out to me.
I was reading in the book of Psalms when the Holy Spirit began to rest on me. I was prompted to write a declaration of faith in my journal.
Hebrews 11:1 is a scripture that I had been thinking deeply about. How do we by faith pull something that doesn't exist into existence-that has substance and can be evidenced?
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I scribed on paper the substance of my faith. What I hoped God was going to do on our behalf.
Looking back I can see that what I wrote was a prophetic declaration over our circumstances. I didn't write it. The Spirit of God wrote through me.
The result with accompanied prayer was that every prognosis, every projection, by every doctor was flipped upside down. God opened a pathway that wasn't there. He made a way where there was no way. He performed a miracle. Our son not only lived but is a thriving 13-year-old full of love and life.
The Lord does truly move before us and work miracles by the power of His outstretched arm.
Be encouraged to speak the Word, Truth, and Faith over your circumstances.
Speak to your mountains.
Decree who God is.
Speak Aloud His promises.
Then stand by and watch how God moves on your behalf!
God may open a new path before us that SEEMS impossible but is very possible with him. He can lead us straight through this time. Even though the water seems uncrossable and the mountain unmovable....God does the impossible.
We must look straight ahead and not at the walls of water on our sides of impossible circumstances.
Like the Israelites we have followed God out of Egypt toward a place that He has promised us. We are surrounded by desert and can’t see even a glimmer of the promise. Yet, this is the time that God is calling us to fully TRUST Him and His promises and to CALL OUT to Him for help.
Before us is the Red sea (a valley of loss) where the only thing our human minds can see is our son Nathan’s death or his life with suffering and pain. Then, on our sides are the mountains of:
no secure job, me on bed rest, no future security, and everything up in the air.
Then behind us comes the Army of Egypt wanting to take us back and enslave us again to our old selves. And Satan is whispering lies in our ears telling us that it was better in Egypt when we weren’t stepping out in faith. “See where God has brought you," he says. “He is going to lead you into the desert and abandon you with no way to escape from your difficulties.”
But Keith and I will trust in our God. He will not leave us or forsake us. We cry out to Him in our time of need. We will not go back to Egypt! We will continue to forge ahead to the promised land, even if it looks like we will never get there and there are insurmountable obstacles in our path. We will not listen to Satan’s lies.
This is what our God will do for us. Though we have not seen it yet, we believe.
God will move his cloud behind us to protect us from Satan’s army and God’s Holy Spirit-His Wind-is going to blow all night and make a way where there was no way.
He will part the Red Sea in front of us so we can walk across on dry land and continue on our journey to the Promised Land. Thank you Lord. Your love and faithfulness endure forever, do not abandon the work of your hands.
We are in the midst of the story, but we already know the end. God’s plan and glory will prevail. If we continue to seek Him and humble ourselves before Him-His will will be accomplished in our lives. He has promised us a future and a hope-life abundantly. Streams of living water! (2 Chronicles 20)
As we push forward in faith, and stand firm in our belief in the Lord; we will succeed. We must seek God’s will in all of our decisions and circumstances. We must lead our march with singing and praise and thanks to Him who’s faithful love endures forever.
Then God will go before us and fight the battle for us.
Then our “Valley of Loss” will be turned to the “Valley of Blessing” because we will praise and thank the Lord there.
I was reminded of my heart's cry to the Lord in the midst of my pregnancy with Nathan.
One particular day stands out to me.
I was reading in the book of Psalms when the Holy Spirit began to rest on me. I was prompted to write a declaration of faith in my journal.
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I scribed on paper the substance of my faith. What I hoped God was going to do on our behalf.
Looking back I can see that what I wrote was a prophetic declaration over our circumstances. I didn't write it. The Spirit of God wrote through me.
The result with accompanied prayer was that every prognosis, every projection, by every doctor was flipped upside down. God opened a pathway that wasn't there. He made a way where there was no way. He performed a miracle. Our son not only lived but is a thriving 13-year-old full of love and life.
The Lord does truly move before us and work miracles by the power of His outstretched arm.
Be encouraged to speak the Word, Truth, and Faith over your circumstances.
Speak to your mountains.
Decree who God is.
Speak Aloud His promises.
Then stand by and watch how God moves on your behalf!
My Journal Entry
August 28, 2004 (about 27 weeks pregnant)
Psalm 77
“I cry out to God without holding back. All night long I pray, with hands lifted toward heaven, pleading.
You are the God of miracles and wonders!
Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters-a pathway no one knew was there! You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep.”
Even though it seems that we are at an end in the road and every path before us is fraught with difficulty and pain....God opened a pathway for the Israelites that no one knew was there.God may open a new path before us that SEEMS impossible but is very possible with him. He can lead us straight through this time. Even though the water seems uncrossable and the mountain unmovable....God does the impossible.
We must look straight ahead and not at the walls of water on our sides of impossible circumstances.
Like the Israelites we have followed God out of Egypt toward a place that He has promised us. We are surrounded by desert and can’t see even a glimmer of the promise. Yet, this is the time that God is calling us to fully TRUST Him and His promises and to CALL OUT to Him for help.
Before us is the Red sea (a valley of loss) where the only thing our human minds can see is our son Nathan’s death or his life with suffering and pain. Then, on our sides are the mountains of:
no secure job, me on bed rest, no future security, and everything up in the air.
Then behind us comes the Army of Egypt wanting to take us back and enslave us again to our old selves. And Satan is whispering lies in our ears telling us that it was better in Egypt when we weren’t stepping out in faith. “See where God has brought you," he says. “He is going to lead you into the desert and abandon you with no way to escape from your difficulties.”
But Keith and I will trust in our God. He will not leave us or forsake us. We cry out to Him in our time of need. We will not go back to Egypt! We will continue to forge ahead to the promised land, even if it looks like we will never get there and there are insurmountable obstacles in our path. We will not listen to Satan’s lies.
This is what our God will do for us. Though we have not seen it yet, we believe.
God will move his cloud behind us to protect us from Satan’s army and God’s Holy Spirit-His Wind-is going to blow all night and make a way where there was no way.
He will part the Red Sea in front of us so we can walk across on dry land and continue on our journey to the Promised Land. Thank you Lord. Your love and faithfulness endure forever, do not abandon the work of your hands.
We are in the midst of the story, but we already know the end. God’s plan and glory will prevail. If we continue to seek Him and humble ourselves before Him-His will will be accomplished in our lives. He has promised us a future and a hope-life abundantly. Streams of living water! (2 Chronicles 20)
As we push forward in faith, and stand firm in our belief in the Lord; we will succeed. We must seek God’s will in all of our decisions and circumstances. We must lead our march with singing and praise and thanks to Him who’s faithful love endures forever.
Then God will go before us and fight the battle for us.
Then our “Valley of Loss” will be turned to the “Valley of Blessing” because we will praise and thank the Lord there.
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