PART TWO fear and faith
eradicate fear and doubt
You must not entertain fears that your faith will fail if you put it into action. Fear and faith cannot coexist; if you pray a prayer of faith, but harbor fear in your heart, then you lack real faith. Will you feed your faith or your fear? Faith is not surprised when Jesus answers; faith expected it. Faith doesn’t even consider the possibility of defeat or failure. Faith knows. Is your faith that strong‚ that durable? If not‚ maybe your heart is too full of fears and doubts. Those must be eradicated through the fumigation of God’s Word if you really want your faith to grow and flourish.
Accept Jesus’ love and expect great things
You can’t have faith if you don’t feel worthy of asking for more or greater things from Him, or if you figure that while He may have done a miracle for so-and-so, He can’t possibly do the same for you. Jesus doesn’t play favorites; what He did for others, He will do for you too—according to your faith (Matthew 9:29). Every promise in the Bible can be yours, whether you feel worthy of it or not. If you do your part to have faith and meet the Lord’s conditions, Jesus will do His part to fulfill the promise. Why don’t you apply some of those promises despite your feelings and give Him a chance to prove Himself to you? You are worthy simply because He has deemed you worthy. Now‚ expect great things from Him!
rise above physical situations and conditions
Do not allow the way things seem in the physical realm to overwhelm you and hinder your faith. You must focus on Jesus and His power instead. There are difficulties, there are impossibilities, there are huge needs and sometimes setbacks. Then there’s the God of the universe, Who supplied the entire world with water, plants, animals, life‚ time, order, seasons, and much more‚ in only six days. Weigh your needs against His greatness and remind yourself that He is more than able. Then ask of Him, focusing only on His ability‚ and the promise that there is nothing too hard for Him to do.
allow the lord to work in your life in the way he knows is best
Learn to recognize the way that Jesus uses things in your life to strengthen your faith, and yield to them. Grow through the tests that come your way. Hold on when you’re going through tough times, and let Him strengthen you. Choose to get the most mileage that you can out of whatever battles you face by looking to Him, by hearing from Him, and by fighting, and then receiving the enhanced faith and confidence that He gives you once the battle is over. If you make the right decisions, then the battles and tests and trials of life strengthen your faith rather than weaken it.
