You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.  Psalm 77:14

In the Genesis account of Abram and Sarah, Sarah’s cycle of womanhood was long over.  Logic.  Science.  Both proved that it was humanly impossible to bear a child in old age.  She and Abram had spent the breadth of their marriage asking God to open her womb but at some point, she stopped believing.  When the announcement was made that she would have a son, Sarah laughed at the thought of such a physical impossibility. 

Miracles aren’t miracles without the ‘impossibility’ factor.  Is this not why faith is so difficult?  We are surrounded by circumstantial physical evidence that disproves feasibility.  If I have a history of not having seen God’s power move on my behalf, then I will always lean toward logic and move away from what seems ludicrous.  History begs to control belief.

What might I ask God for today if all reserve was moved out of the way?  Where would others laugh in my face and rehearse the evidence against faith-filled prayer? That points precisely, perhaps, to what God would, and can, do.  “But you can’t ask God for that!” Satan whispers.  His taunts, like arrows, come at me in thoughts but also through the mouths of friends and family.  He is not above using faithless believers to parrot faithless words.  So few walk by faith and I should remember that the next time a brother or sister in Christ comes with their ‘prudent’ warnings.

God has placed me in many impossible situations throughout my life.  There were times I had to pray for a miracle or there would be some horrible consequence.  For survival’s sake, I hung onto faith, stood in the Word, and prayed for a miracle.  Faith is hardest when I’ve invested years of prayer into my request.

God defies the odds.  He cares nothing about physics, past evidence, and present obstacles.  He who spoke to the earth, a planet that was once dark and lifeless, and but was transformed into a stunning environment full of limitless possibilities, is the same God who can do anything miraculous in my world.  There is something more critical to pray for than the request itself ~ it’s that my faith would remain if God said ‘no ‘– or ‘wait.’

  For what should I trust You that defies all odds?  I’ll go there.  In Jesus name, Amen

For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.  Psalm 62:5-6

Faith is a filter.  All thoughts and feels should be sifted through it.  This is the process of taking every thought captive.  This is what encourages a resolve to wait on God though a situation begs human intervention.

Faith reminds me that God is ruling when it appears mayhem is prevailing.

Faith reminds me that God is watching when I fear He’s lost interest.

Faith reminds me that God is active when I see no evidence of it.

Faith reminds me that God is omniscient, and I am not.

Faith reminds me that God is sovereign over all surprises.

Faith reminds me that God is redemptive when life seems full of wasted pain.

Faith reminds me that God is fiercely protective when His children are vulnerable.

Faith reminds me that God is just when evil temporarily prospers.

Faith reminds me that God is a Father who is never fatigued, distracted, nor disinterested.

God is the faith-giver wherever I’m running on empty today and wherever fear is on the throne.

Let faith arise!

Birth faith in new places.  Deep places.  Amen

Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.  Psalm 94:15

Love and trust are the foundations of any relationship.  If either one is destroyed, a deep fracture threatens the future of that connection.  

Our enemy knows how relationships work.  He knows that if I’m secure in my Father’s love, I am dangerous to his evil enterprise.   I will burn brightly for the advancement of God’s kingdom.  I will give my life without much thought.  How can he win against such undying loyalty?  By devising a smear campaign. He levels accusations against God that make perfect sense to me if I rely on logic and circumstantial evidence to determine my perspective.  

There have been times in my life when God ‘appeared’ to be guilty. Satan had rallied his troops. Questions about God’s goodness came at me and tormented me.  Instead of shunning them, I fed them.  Distrust grew and weeds overtook the landscape of my heart and choked out all remnants of my faith.  

There was a cure.  When prayers weren’t answered the way I thought they should be, I had to be willing to stand in the truth that whatever God’s reason, He was still trustworthy.  In a climate of disappointment and against the backdrop of perceived damning evidence, the Holy Spirit fanned the winds of faith across the panorama of my faithlessness.  He inspired belief instead of doubt. 

My love for God is in tact and I’ve learned that love is more than feelings.  Love has an iron will that is fueled by faith.  I trust God even though His glorious resolution to my problems are out of my range of vision. 

Lord, the foundation of my faith rests upon the pillars of Your righteousness. Amen

Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Psalm 31:4

I have often found myself hemmed in.  I didn’t see it coming.  I traveled along, thought things were fine as I acted upon the advice of well-meaning people, but I ended up at a dead end nonetheless.  I tried to re-trace my steps to find someone to blame only to discover that my way was shaped by well-meaning companions who were also doing the best they could to dispense advice.  They just weren’t God.  So, I stood in a place where it was impossible to go forward and equally impossible to go back.  It was as if I ascended a mountain through switchback turns and the only way was forward. 

Perhaps you know what I’m talking about.  You probably also know that while we rail and fret, God is listening.  It isn’t our anxiety that brings Him to the scene to start problem solving.  He knew long ago that we’d be here.   He went ahead and put everything in place to make a way of escape.  His sovereignty allowed the trap so He could devise a glorious solution for our salvation and His glory.  What’s difficult to see is that the trap is really our friend.  It seems preposterous that it’s our doorway to glory, but it is! 

Traps are illusions.  Traps take us to hidden doors that only God can see.  Traps lead us to God’s arms.  Traps show us that God is the hero of our story.  Traps reveal the brokenness and limitations of the people around us.  Traps reveal the power and glory of our Father.  Traps end one way of life and introduce us to a better way.  Traps offer us the chance to embrace new spiritual paradigms.

Perhaps what I’m cursing under my breath is really something for which I should give thanks. I also need to stop looking for what I think salvation will look like and ask God to give me supernatural vision for the door that leads to spacious places.  This wall is God’s window to my future.

I will stop crying and dare to believe.  Amen

But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children.   Psalms 103:17

I’ve done it.  Have you?  I’ve not only attempted to live in the present, which is God’s will for me, but emotionally, I’ve lived in the past as well as the future.  None of those options is good for me. 

How can I know if I am living in the past?  When I rehearse it and wish there had been a different outcome.  I review what was done to me and fantasize what life could be like had I not been victimized.  I also review my sins, even the unintentional mistakes I made from not knowing better, and ache to travel back to fix them.  I live in the wonderland of wishful thinking and the grief of how it is.

How can I know if I am living in the future?  When I borrow tomorrow’s trouble and decide that I can’t possibly handle what’s coming.  I assess the way things are today, forecast the future, and cast it in stone. Believing that my prediction is accurate, I succumb to fear and unwarranted grief.  How many times have I said ~ “I can’t handle tomorrow because . . .”

How can I have peace about the past?  By believing that God is a redeemer of it.  I can’t mess anything up so badly that He can’t bless me with abundant life.  His mercies started afresh at 12:01 a.m. this morning so I put the past behind me and stand in the faith of His goodness.

How can I abandon a fear of the future?  By trusting that He’s already there.  Nothing I do is going to take Him by surprise.  The scriptures about tomorrow are rock solid and will sustain the weight of my expectations, and my successes and failures. 

The past and the future are out of bounds.  I’m not supposed to play God.  He is the only one who operates outside of time.  He equipped me to live today on the wings of momentary grace. 

For my yesterday’s, redeem.  For today, sustain.  For tomorrow, bolster my faith that You’ve got it covered.  Amen

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.  Psalm 62:8 

How many people exist with whom you can speak freely – without a filter?  With whom can you pour out your heart and know that divine wisdom is hearing it, filtering it, and responding to it?  Precious few.  To speak freely is a gift rarely experienced.          

‘Pouring out’ in Hebrew means what it portrays.  To empty oneself of something.  I’ve been surprised just how often this phrase is used in scripture.  A dependent prayer is described as the ‘pouring out of one’s soul’.  God also says that ‘He pours out His wrath’.  That’s sobering.  And how about this?  God says that He will ‘pour out His Spirit on the house of David’ and they will finally be able to see ‘whom they have pierced and weep bitterly.’  Zech 12:10

There are times I pour out my heart to a few trusted friends.  I must ask myself if I feel that freely with God.  Do I feel I have to weigh my words with Him and phrase everything just right?  Do I sit on my anger and try to pretend I don’t have any?  Is prayer a time when I can truly empty the contents of my soul and know I have placed my heart in safe hands?  God extends this kind of freedom to me and I’m held safely in perfect Love.

I am riveted on the beauty of two things; 1.) Lifting my heart to God, tipping it, and pouring out the contents.  2) Envisioning the effects of Him pouring out His Spirit upon me. 

Both are beautiful.  While I would certainly feel better having poured out my soul, the benefits would be miniscule in comparison to what would happen if God poured out the power of His Spirit on me.  Nothing in my world would stay the same.

With confidence, and without restraint, I pour out my heart to You.  Pour out Your Spirit upon me to raise me up to wholeness.  Amen