Graced To Do God's Will

Luke 10:39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Sometimes, we can get so busy with life until we miss the most important thing we can ever have; an intimate relationship with God. It’s understandable. We work, manage children, cook, clean, attend our children’s activities, etc.

At some point, we need to prioritize our relationship with God instead of attempting to manage everything in the natural. We need to set aside time in our day to spend time with God. It could be in the morning before our day gets started, at lunch, or at night when everyone’s asleep. Those dishes may be screaming at you to wash them, but know, time with God is more important.

So, who will we imitate? We can be like Martha who was busying herself to get things done in the natural but forsook intimacy with Jesus, or we can be like Mary who valued the presence of Jesus and delayed managing things in the natural.

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

God knows our hearts and our ultimate desires. He’s not going to give us anything that undermines our ultimate desires.

For instance, we may want a job at a specific company. That job may require us to travel a lot. We may think we’re okay with the travel, but by traveling often, we may not be able to obtain or maintain a successful marriage or family which is our ultimate desire. We like the job, but the marriage and family are something we’ve always dreamed of.

God is so awesome until He won’t let current desires undermine our ultimate desires. So, if there’s a delay or it seems like there’s a denial in a certain desire, ask God to reveal if it’s undermining an ultimate desire.

Ephesians 1:13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.

When we get born-again (make Jesus our Lord and Savior) we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit lives in us. We don’t have to work for it, fast for 40 days to get it, and we don’t have to speak in tongues to know we have it. It says it plain and clear, God’s Spirit is given to us when we believe in Christ.

What does this mean for us?

1. We are led by God Himself (Rom. 8:14). Even if every version of a Bible is destroyed, God will still lead us to a prosperous, peaceful, protected life.

2. We have power (Acts 1:8). God gives us the power to do whatever He calls us to do. We don’t have to worry about doing it in our own strength because it’s He who supplies the power.

3. We have a helper (John 15:26). The Holy Spirit will help us do whatever task needs to be done. He’ll help us figure out a problem at work, help us raise our children, and help us to do the will of God.

4. We have an intercessor (Rom 8:26). The Holy Spirit will pray on our behalf when we don’t know what or how to pray.

5. We have gifts (1 Cor. 12:4-11; Gal. 5:22-23). The gifts that are given through the Spirit will benefit the Kingdom of God and make us better people.

The Holy Spirit is in every born-again believer. Let’s live our lives through Him.

Isaiah 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;

Everyone wants to eat the good of the land. What’s the good of the land? Walking in divine health, having peace of mind, and prospering in our finances to the point where we can easily be a blessing to others.

To eat the good of the land, we must be willing and obedient. Our obedience is not to the law, but to the Spirit of God (Ezekiel 36:27). People under the old covenant could only honor God by being obedient to the Law of Moses. We’re no longer under the law, but under grace (Rom. 6:14). Through grace, the gift of the Holy Spirit is sealed inside every born-again believer (Ephesians 1:13). Our obedience to His Spirit positions us to eat the good of the land.

He may tell us to remove certain things from our diet, apply to that job, or stop spending our money on certain things. All these instructions are rooted in love. God loves us to the point where He’ll give us detailed instructions so that we’ll eat the good of the land, but we must be willing and obedient.

Romans 6: 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

It’s easy to sin. The cravings of sin are so satisfying to our flesh and we all have our temptations. There’s everything from cursing out that person who took our parking spot, to lusting after that man or woman, to excessive eating. It’s difficult to fight the urges of our flesh, but the fight is well worth it.

Fighting temptation keeps us free from bondage. We may think we’re free by doing whatever our flesh desires, but we’re actually putting ourselves into bondage (John 8:31-36). Secondly, the more we exercise resistance to sin, the stronger we’ll become and the more we’re able to endure (Heb. 12:1-3). At first it may be extremely difficult to keep calm when our spouse is being annoying, but the more we maintain our cool, the easier it becomes. Finally, obedience to the will of God positions us to receive the promises of God (Isaiah 1:19).

Does this mean we won’t ever sin? No. But, we shouldn’t practice sin. We should no longer give in and accept sin as part of our identity.
Fight!!! And don’t let sin rule your life.

Psalm 31:20 You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the schemes of men. You conceal them in Your shelter from accusing tongues.

Have you ever seen your child, or someone else’s child be scared or uncomfortable in a setting? The child is quiet, nervous, and doesn’t want to be bothered. However, when the parent enters the room, all their fears seem to go away. The presence of their parent made them comfortable.

God is our Father. When we get a revelation that God is always with us and He’s never going to leave us, there should be a sense of peace everywhere we go. It doesn’t matter if we’re the new employee starting a job, at home by ourselves, or in a war zone, God is with us and He’s vowed to protect and take care of us.

God loves us and He’s not going to leave us. There’s no reason to be uncomfortable or fearful. Allow the presence of God to bring peace, comfort, and confidence in every circumstance.

Genesis 39:20 So Joseph’s master took him and had him thrown into the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined.

Genesis 41:39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my house, and all my people are to obey your commands. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Some have made mistakes that gave us a criminal record. Society has made it difficult for people with criminal records to become successful. It may be difficult to be successful if we’re depending of man, but it’s not difficult when God’s involved.

Regardless of what we’ve done, there’s good news. First, there’s unlimited forgiveness for whatever we’ve done (egregious or minor). People may not have forgiven us, but God has. Receive it.

Secondly, when God is with us and we rely on Him, we’re destined to prosper. Joseph went from prison to second in command because God was with him. Since God prospered Joseph from prison, He can prosper us too, regardless of what we’ve done.

No one has to settle for the bare minimum. Receive God’s forgiveness, know He’s with you, and expect to prosper through Him.

Habakkuk 3:17 Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, 18 yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

As we know, it takes patience when it comes to receiving the promises of God which means, we won’t get our way all the time.

We may want healing in our bodies in two days, but those two days have come and gone and we’re still in pain. Or, we may want to receive that job offer but instead, we receive an email saying they’re going with another candidate.

After not getting our way, what will we do? We can pout, get mad at God, and choose to doubt God’s ability or we can rejoice, praise God anyway, and continue to believe in God’s promises for our lives.

When we doubt and get frustrated with God, the devil is in control and we forfeit God’s promises. This mindset can lead us away from praying, attending church, and ultimately away from God.

However, if we rejoice and continue to praise God despite having a bit of frustration from not getting our way, we set ourselves up for victory. God’s promises will still be in place, we’ll grow in patience, and maturity (James 1:2-4).

It may be difficult, but continue to believe and praise God when things don’t go our way. It will greatly impact our future.

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.

When we make the effort to submit ourselves to God, He guarantees that we will prosper in everything we do. Who wouldn’t want that deal? The problem is there are a lot of vices, thoughts, and suggestions that will tempt our flesh to do things outside the will of God. We can either temporarily satisfy our flesh and give in to those temptations or honor God by resisting the urge to sin.

It’s not only sin we’re resisting, but anything that will hinder our relationship with God. It takes effort to study God’s Word instead of watching TV. It takes effort to wake up earlier to spend time with God. It can be a struggle to tame our flesh, but the more we resist, the easier it becomes in the future and the more it will benefit our lives.

So, resist the urge to sin, do what God tells you to do, and expect prosperity to overtake every area of your life.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

With the exception of miracles, God’s promises will manifest through finances or favor. God will give us the money to get the thing (finances) or He’ll put it on someone’s heart to give us the thing (favor).

It doesn’t matter if it’s clothes, health related, job promotion, or a spouse. Finances or favor from God will play a part in the manifestation of God’s promises.

So, apply your faith to whatever you need or desire (big or small) and expect God to manifest it through finances or favor.

Psalm 13:1 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? 2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the sleep of death;

The old folks used to say, “don’t question God.” Here we have David, a man after God’s own heart, questioning God about his difficulties. If David can ask questions, so can we.

It’s okay to ask God questions. God’s not going to strike us down and it’s not a form of doubt. It’s okay to ask God why certain things did or did not happen or how long we have to wait. We can even ask Him to elaborate on a specific situation. As we spend time with Him, He’ll let us know the answer. We may not always like the answer, but He’ll give us an answer.

God is kind and He knows we have questions. He’s always available and willing to answer every question we have. For clarity and understanding about situations going on in our lives, spend time with God and He’ll provide answers for all our questions.

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues,

A lot of us understand the importance of prayer. We pray, but it’s often done in a language we understand. For believers, we have another language we can use when praying to God. That language is the Holy Spirit or tongues.

Praying in the Holy Spirit has gotten a bad reputation based on what people have seen on TV or at certain churches. It may sound funny or seem illogical, but praying in the Spirit is one of the best things we can do in our prayer time.

The Bible tells us we pray a perfect prayer that aligns with the will of God when we pray in the Spirit (Romans 8:26-27). Not only that, but it builds us up, keeps us in the love of God, and we speak the hidden wisdom of God which is hidden in mystery that God ordained about our future. (Jude 1:20-21; 1 Cor. 2:1-12).

It will seem strange to pray in the Spirit at first but do it anyway. Start, by making random sounds with your mouth while focusing your attention on God. Do it for a minute at first. As you get more comfortable with praying in the Spirit, your sounds will become more fluent and you won’t keep up with the time.

Whether you’re at home, in your car, or waiting in line, start praying in the Spirit so that your life can be immensely impacted.

Ezekiel 37:26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever.

God gave us a covenant of peace. A covenant is greater than a promise. It’s an agreement which brings about a relationship of commitment between God and his people.

God gave us an everlasting agreement to give us peace. The only person that can nullify that agreement is us. If we choose to worry, live in fear, or be anxious about a thing, we reject God’s covenant with us.

Circumstances will tempt us to worry or be anxious, but at the time of temptation, partake of this covenant and receive the peace God provided. He’s not going to force His peace on us. It’s up to us to receive His peace by faith.

So, if the situation is good or bad, receive the peace God provided.

Psalm 66:16 Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.

In the body of Christ, we hear a lot of thrilling testimonies. We’ll hear about people overcoming abuse, people being delivered from poverty, people becoming successful without their parent(s) around, or people almost losing their lives. These are great testimonies to rejoice about, but everyone doesn’t have these thrilling testimonies. Some of us have the testimony of not going through major situations.

We all haven’t gone through abuse, abandonment, or great heartache and that’s okay. Some of us had decent lives. The enemy will use this to make us feel less than. He’ll make us feel like if we haven’t gone through major events, how can we be used in the body of Christ or how can people relate to us.

Don’t let the enemy make you feel down. Being covered, protected, and having provision all our lives is a testimony within itself. The lack of difficulty in our lives displays the goodness of God.

We all may not have thrilling testimonies that could be in a movie, but whatever testimony we have will glorify God and be relatable to someone else. Share your testimony today.

Luke 17:14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

Faith requires actions (James 2:20). Jesus told these lepers to show their unclean selves to the priest. As they went, they were healed.

God is going to require us to take action. Some call this a leap of faith.

He may tell us to start a business, knowing we don’t have all the details in place.
He may tell us to confess we’re healed even though the symptoms of the sickness are present.
He may tell us to go to the car dealership and talk with a salesperson even though we know we don’t have the money to buy the car.

As we go and do what God tells us to do, even though it may not make sense, we set a scene where God can do the miraculous.

As we start that business, God may place people in our lives that can help develop our business.
As we confess we’re healed, the symptoms may leave our bodies faster than anticipated.
As we go to the car dealership, He may compel another person to buy the car for us.

Listen to what God is saying to you. Whatever action He’s telling you to do, do it with an expectation of experiencing the miraculous. If it doesn’t happen after obeying that first action, don’t get discouraged. Keep listening to His instructions. Obeying those series of instructions can be the catapult for breakthrough.

Psalm 119:89 Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.

Whatever God’s Word says about us, it’s settled in heaven. It’s not changing or going away. It’s settled.

Since God’s Word says we’re healed, it’s settled that we’re healed.
Since God’s Word says we’re rich, it’s settled that we’re rich.
Since God’s Word says we’re victorious, it’s settled we have the victory.
Since God’s Word says we’re righteous through Christ, it’s settled we’re righteous.
Since God’s Word says we’re delivered, it’s settled we’re delivered.

Our current circumstance doesn’t change what God’s Word says about us, however our belief in God’s Word can change our current circumstance.

Believe God’s Word above everything else and remember His Word is settled.

Inspired by Bill Winston

There’s a song by William McDowell that says, “I give myself away, so You can use me.” A lot of us sing this song, but do we know what giving ourselves away entails?

We’re saying, it’s not about us. It’s not about our desires. It’s not about when we get blessed. It’s about Kingdom assignments which may include, waking up early or staying up late, doing a job that’s seemingly beneath us, giving our resources away, or doing something out of our comfort zone.

These things are appalling to our flesh. Our flesh only wants to think about us. If we do something noble, our flesh wants immediate gratitude from the person and a blessing the next day from God. We must move beyond our flesh.

One thing we must remember is our labor is not in vain. Being used by God has benefits that include, advancing the Kingdom of God, uplifting our community, and being a blessing to someone else. Our assignment may be someone else’s answered prayer. God is not asking us to do all this stuff for free. Ephesians 6:8 says, the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do.

There’s fulfillment in being used by God. Our assignment will glorify God and make the world a better place.

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  

Acts 28: 3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.4 So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” 5 But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god

THE WORRY
After the snake bit Paul and with everyone commenting on the bite, I’m sure Paul was tempted to worry about being poisoned. But notice, Paul never said a word.

When surprisingly hurtful situations occur in our lives, we’ll be tempted to worry. We may even have people giving their opinions about how we should respond or our possible outcomes. Instead of worrying, replace worry with meditation. We can meditate on our identity, our authority, and our position in the Kingdom. We must realize nothing shall harm us to death (Luke 10:19), we’re healed (Isaiah 53:5), we are protected (2 Thess. 3:3), etc. As we meditate on the truth in God’s Word and not speak on what could happen, we position ourselves for complete wholeness from the hurt we experienced.

It may be painful and there will be times of discomfort, but by trusting in the finished works of Jesus, we’ll make it through.

Acts 28:3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 4 So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” 5 But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

THE BITE
There are going to be some things in our lives that surprisingly hurt us. We may get in a car accident, we may experience infidelity in our marriage, we may experience a sudden sickness, or we may lose a loved one. Those things hurt. But like Paul’s snake bite, the situation may hurt us, but it won’t destroy us.

When we understand the Blessing that is at work in our lives and when we understand the covering that we have through Jesus Christ, we’ll realize nothing can destroy us.

Certain things may hurt us for a moment, but as we trust in God to deal with the pain we’re experiencing, He’ll remove the pain and cause any negative situation to work out for our good (Rom. 8:28).

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

A faith fight is a spiritual fight we have from the time we pray for something to the manifestation of that thing. We have weapons we can use to guarantee our victory. Those weapons are faith, patience, meditation, vision, and praise.

PRAISE
When we’re focused on staying in faith, continuing to confess God’s Word over our promise, and remaining patient, we may forget to use our weapon of praise. Praise precedes our promise.

We praise God that He has that promise for us. We praise God for His faithfulness to have that promise come to pass. We praise God, by faith, we have that promise through Christ. It doesn’t have to be a long religious experience. We can simply put on our favorite praise song and think about God manifesting our promise.

Praise keeps us positive. It gives us the right attitude when it doesn’t seem like its coming fast enough. Praise lets the enemy know we know where our help comes from. Praise let’s God know how appreciative we are for His goodness.

While everything is going on around you, don’t forget to praise God.

Psalm 42:5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.  

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

A faith fight is a spiritual fight we have from the time we pray for something to the manifestation of that thing. We have weapons we can use to guarantee our victory. Those weapons are faith, patience, meditation, vision, and praise.

VISION
While we continue to believe and patiently wait on God’s promise to manifest in our lives, it’s beneficial to envision ourselves with that promise. We should see ourselves healed, see our marriage restored, or see ourselves at that new job. Have some fun with it. Make up a scenario of how God opens that door to that new job or how He uses this person to bless you with that new car.

These visions keep us in faith and keep us from getting discouraged during times of delay.

Whatever we desire from God, see yourselves with it before you get it.

Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.

-Stay tuned to learn about the other weapons we use to win every faith fight.

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

A faith fight is a spiritual fight we have from the time we pray for something to the manifestation of that thing. We have weapons we can use to guarantee our victory. Those weapons are faith, patience, meditation, vision, and praise.

MEDITATION:
Joshua 1:8 says, keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. We’re not under the law, but the principle of meditation still applies. When we meditate on the promise God made to us in His Word, we’re setting ourselves up for success. Doubt and unbelief can’t creep in our minds if our minds are full of God’s promises. If we prayed for wisdom to handle a situation at our job or for our business, we need to meditate on God’s promise in James 1:5 which says, if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. Keep this scripture circulating in your mind and eventually wisdom for whatever we need will come to pass.

We can do this for anything we prayed for (healing, new car, financial increase, etc.). Find that promise in the Word of God, believe it’s for you, meditate on it daily, and wait on that promise to manifest.

-Stay tuned to learn about the other weapons we use to win every faith fight.

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

A faith fight is a spiritual fight we have from the time we pray for something to the manifestation of that thing. We have weapons we can use to guarantee our victory. Those weapons are faith, patience, meditation, vision, and praise.

PATIENCE
Once we pray, one of the things we’ll most likely have to do is wait. That’s why patience is a necessity. We may have to wait a week, a month, or a few years, but waiting is a part of the process. Hebrews 10:36 says, we have need of patience. During the waiting period, we have to make sure our attitude remains positive. We can’t get frustrated or doubtful because of the delay. We may not know when our prayers will manifest, but we must be confident knowing they will eventually manifest if we employ faith and patience in our lives.

Hebrews 6:12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

-Stay tuned to learn about the other weapons we use to win every faith fight.

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Faith fights are real. From the time we pray for a thing, the fight is on. The devil is out to make sure we don’t get what we prayed for. To win every faith fight, there are a few tools we need. Those tools are faith, patience, meditation, vision, and praise.

FAITH
It’s a faith fight, so the first and most important thing we need is faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and it’s the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Simply put, faith is our belief. Our faith needs to be in God’s Word. If He said it or it’s written in His Word, that’s where our faith needs to be.

We believe that God promised the need or desire to us, we believe that it’s already available for us, and we believe in a matter of time, it will manifest in our lives.

Certain situations and circumstances will tempt us to doubt and not believe in what God has promised. Our job is to reject thoughts of doubt and look beyond our circumstances and remain in faith for God’s promises.

Let’s activate and maintain our faith for the promises of God.

-Stay tuned to learn about the other tools we use to win every faith fight.

Job 42:10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.

It’s easier now, more than ever, to pray for our friends. We can scroll down one of our social media accounts and pray for them. We can pray for their health, over their family, or pray over their finances. Nothing has to be wrong to pray for them. We simply pray as the Lord leads us to pray.

When we pray for others, we sow seeds in our own lives. We sow the opportunity for someone else to pray for us. They could be praying for protection, promotion, and divine positioning in our lives. Their prayers can prosper us.

If we truly believe God’s Word, we’ll understand our prayers are powerful and effective (James 5:16). This means whatever we pray for will come to pass.

So as the Lord leads, don’t forget to pray for your friends. They may never know about our prayers, but God knows, and He sees the compassion flowing from our hearts. So, let’s pray for your friends.

Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

What if it doesn’t work? What if the desire doesn’t come to pass within the time frame we believe we heard from God?
ANSWER: Shift your faith and continue to believe.

Okay…..It didn’t happen how or when we believed it was going to happen. That’s okay. We go back to God, unashamed, and ask Him where we missed it. No need to beat ourselves up about it. He’s still pleased because we acted in faith (Hebrews 11:6).

Don’t stop believing for the desire. I REPEAT… DON’T STOP BELIEVING. We just need to shift our faith based on our communication with God. He may show us areas where we doubted, He may reveal places in our lives where we need to mature prior to receiving the promise, or we just got the timing wrong.

As we stay in constant communication with God, He’ll let us know any adjustments we need to make in our faith or within ourselves when believing for that long shot. Whatever you do, don’t stop believing.

Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The term long shot is used when the chances of an outcome of being successful appear slim.

When we apply our faith to a thing, on the surface, it may appear as a long shot. A long shot in faith may include applying our faith to be in a new house by the end of the year and it’s already December or applying our faith to be married next year when we’re not even in a relationship now. In the natural it seems impossible but with God, all things are possible. For God, it’s not a long shot. This is easy. This is a slam dunk.

So even if the shot appears to be long, keep believing because God can make it happen.

**Before applying your faith to this long shot, be sure to consult God regarding the timing. Make sure it’s God, and not your emotion, who gave you the time for the promise to manifest. **

-Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow when we ask the question, what if the desire doesn’t come to pass within the time frame we believe we heard from God?

Because we want to do right, we often find faults within ourselves. We reflect on what we didn’t do. We think about everything we could have done better. We beat ourselves up about being rude to a customer, getting mad at our children, being judgmental, or complaining about a situation. Looking at all the things we’ve done wrong for the day is known as being sin conscious.

God doesn’t want us to reflect on everything we’ve done wrong. Instead, we should reflect on who we are in Christ. Despite our behavior, we should remind ourselves we’re righteous in the sight of God, we’re loved, we’re forgiven, and through Christ, we’re perfect.

God didn’t sacrifice His Son and provide all these benefits through Him so that we can dwell on what we didn’t do correctly. As long as we live in the flesh, we’ll always find areas that are flawed. The key is to see ourselves the way that God sees us, and God sees us as a righteous, bold, perfect child of His.

Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

Number 14:24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.

We may be surrounded by people who don’t believe in God, don’t believe in God’s ability, and would rather handle things themselves. It’s during this time we need to adopt the spirit of Caleb.

When most of the people surrounding Caleb didn’t believe in God’s ability, Caleb believed God. Like Caleb, our belief gives us access to inherit the promises of God. Everything from our healing to wisdom at work is all received through our belief in God’s ability.

We may be the only one in our circle who believes God at a high level and that’s okay. When people see us with our inheritance, that will hopefully encourage them to put their trust, belief, and confidence in God.

2 Kings 5:9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’

Naaman, commander of the army of Syria, had leprosy. His ultimate goal was to be healed of leprosy. He went to Elisha’s house with a preconceived idea of how he was going to be healed. When the process of his healing was revealed to him, he became furious. Elisha’s messenger (not even Elisha himself) told Naaman to dip seven times in some of the dirtiest water around. If it wasn’t for Naaman’s servants, Naaman would have missed his blessing because he was frustrated with the process.

Like Naaman, we all have some ultimate goal. We want our business to grow, our family to be made whole, or our finances to increase. We may have our own ideas of how God’s going to manifest these promises in our lives. What do we do when we don’t like the process God has given us? Will we obey God even if it doesn’t make sense or seems beneath us, or will we risk missing our blessing by doing our own thing?

Don’t get so tied down to an idea of how God’s going to bless us because He may do something totally opposite. Trust His process. He’s way smarter than us and He’s already worked things out in our favor to reach our ultimate goal. Trust Him.

Isaiah 54:4 “Do not fear, for you will not be put to shame, And do not feel humiliated or ashamed, for you will not be disgraced. For you will forget the shame of your youth, And you will no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood.

We’ve all done some foolish things in our past. The devil holds these things over our heads. Daily, he’ll remind us of what we did. He let’s us know we’re too dirty to be used by God, we’ll be unsuccessful because of our past, and we are unlovable.

Through God’s grace, we’re forgiven of all our sins (Colossians 1:13-14). Not only does God forgive our sins, He forgets our sins too (Hebrew 8:12). And as we can see above, God’s Word instructs us to forget about our foolish past.

We forget about our past by receiving God’s forgiveness every time the thought of our foolish past comes up in our minds. The thought of when we cheated on our spouse or the thought of when we got fired from our jobs will enter our minds. The moment that thought comes, we receive God’s forgiveness and set our minds on a successful future.

Whatever negative event that’s playing in our minds, forget about it and receive God’s forgiveness.

Hebrews 10:36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:

We all want the promises of God. From our mortgage paid, to a new car, to healing in our bodies, we all have needs and desires we want from God.

There are two things that are a necessity to receive the promises of God. That’s faith and patience (or endurance).

A lot of us understand the concept of faith. Faith is believing God made this promise available to us. Endurance on the other hand is holding on to that belief for an extended period of time.

We can believe we’ve received a promise, have confessed that promise over our lives, have sown a financial seed and still haven’t received our promise yet. That’s when endurance needs to be employed.

From the time we pray to the manifestation of that promise could be 2 months, 2 years, or even longer. Why God seems to take so long varies. There could be fear in us He needs to uproot, there could be a maturing process so we won’t end up being spoiled brats, or there could be a simultaneous blessing in the works where He is positioning another believer to get blessed through our blessing. We may never know.

The main point is to remain consistent in our belief in God’s promises. Don’t let circumstances or delay stop your belief in God. Be willing to believe forever.

John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Unfortunately, this next lie has ties with people in the church. The condemnation that some “church folks” have placed on people led people to believe they’re unloved by God.

We’ve all missed the mark. People will use these missed marks to bring guilt and shame on others. The devil will use this guilt, shame, and condemnation and have us thinking God doesn’t love us. He’ll lie and say, “How can God love someone who’s done_______?” Or, he’ll lie and say, “You’ve gone too far and done too much to return back to God’s love.” These are lies.

Romans 8:38-39 says, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing we can ever do can stop God’s love for us. We are and will always be loved by God.
Receive His love.

John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Some of us have backgrounds where we were not esteemed by our parents. Some of us had classmates who were unkind. The devil uses our past to feed us another lie. That lie is we’re not enough.

He likes to tell us we’re not attractive enough to get a spouse or we’re not educated enough to get that job. Spiritually speaking, he’ll tell us we’re not holy enough to be used by God or we’re not righteous enough to get our prayers answered. Lies, lies, lies.

Colossians 2:10 says, we are complete in Him. Through Christ, we’re not missing anything. We’re wonderful, we’re talented, we’re intelligent, and we’re attractive. We’re everything God says we are. Don’t listen to the lies. We are enough.

John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Another lie the devil likes to tell us is, we can’t make it. In life, we will face difficult situations. The devil likes to tell us we can’t make it through these situations. That’s a lie.

God told us throughout the scriptures we’re victorious, we’re more than conquerors, and we’re overcomers. Sometimes, we tend to forget about God’s Word when major problems are right in front of us. That’s why it’s so important to meditate on God’s Word, so that we’ll have God’s overcoming Word at the forefront of our minds.

Don’t listen to the “You can’t make it” lies of the devil and don’t try to figure it out on your own. Allow God and His Word to intervene to see you through.

John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

As we see, the devil is the father of lies. Everything he tells us is a lie. One of the lies he tells us is the insignificant lie.

God will give us instructions to advance the Kingdom of God or to be a blessing. He may tell us to serve somewhere at our church, volunteer at a shelter, or call someone to check on them from time to time. The devil will tell us what we’re doing is insignificant or not benefiting anyone. Like I said, everything the devil tells us is a lie.

We may not see the impact it has on someone’s life or in the Kingdom of God, but just know that it is. If God tells us to do something, it will have impact. The fact that the devil is telling us our actions are insignificant is proof that they’re impactful.

Continue to do what God called us to do and don’t believe the lies of Satan.

Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

When we spend time with God, there’s an anointing on our lives that goes beyond our education, our qualifications, and networking ability. We’ll view things differently, we’ll come up with new ideas, and we’ll inspire many. Our presence will bring peace to a room, joy in people’s hearts, and a hopeful outcome. Frankly put, the God on us will get on them.

When we spend time in God’s presence, people can sense a difference in us. When everyone is worried, we’re calm. When everyone is complaining, we’re keeping our mouths shut. When everyone is hopeless, we’re hopeful.

Some may become inquisitive about our peculiar nature. That’s when we have an opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ or tell them about our time with God.

Let’s differentiate ourselves by spending quality time with God.

Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

We often hear the term “take advantage” in a negative context. Someone took advantage of my generosity or they took advantage of my love.

Some of us attempt to use this negative context with God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness. We think taking advantage of God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness is a bad thing. Some will say, don’t abuse God’s grace. In fact, that’s exactly what God wants us to do. He wants us to take advantage of these things because of the price that was paid. Unlike people, God’s benefits won’t run out based on how many times we use them. There’s not a “last time” with God. If we sin again and again and again, God’s benefits will still be available.

If someone payed $60 or more for us to eat at one of those fancy buffet places in Las Vegas, it would be unwise and insulting if we didn’t take advantage of all the options in front of us. It’s the same way with the benefits of Calvary.

Don’t insult God. Jesus paid an awesome price for us to receive grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Let’s use them to our advantage.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Genesis 12:4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

When God told Abram to leave his country, He didn’t give him a destination. Abram was simply walking until God appeared and told Him to stop. Can you imagine what was going through Abram’s head? Can you imagine how many times he thought to himself “This is stupid?” This shows us the trust Abram had in God.

As we allow God to lead us, He may not always show us the big picture. He may have us take one step at a time. As we obey those steps, eventually, we’ll look up and be prospering in our purpose. But, it takes one step of obedience at a time.

Whether it be great or small, do the last thing God told you to do to position yourself to do the will of God.

1 Corinthians 13:8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Whatever situation we’re facing, apply or receive love.

If we’re facing a confrontational boss, an argumentative spouse, or a stubborn child apply God’s love towards them despite their behavior. Proverbs 25:22 and Luke 6:35 lets us know God will reward us for applying love to the situation.

If we’re facing financial struggles, dealing with depression, or struggling with our identity, receive God’s love knowing that He loves us enough to supply all our needs and increase our finances. Receive God’s love knowing that He’ll always be with us and His love can overcome depression, sadness, and solidify our identity.

It’s up to us to apply or receive God’s love. Just know, whenever it’s applied or received, it’s guaranteed in some way, shape, or form to be successful.