Fear OR Faith…WE HAVE TO CHOOSE!
Regular visitors to the site know that we seem to have recurring themes in the ministry as we stand for marriage restoration, and there’s no doubt that the current theme is “Fear OR Faith” and/or “Focusing on the Problem OR the Promise!” And since this is ALWAYS one of the most important choices we make as we stand, and one of the few things we actually have full control of in our current situations, it’s vitally important that we choose faith and to stand on the power and promise of God’s Word in faith and obedience for the full and complete restoration of our marriages. We must realize that faith and fear cancel each other out because they are mutually exclusive and can NOT co-exist! If we are fearful, we are not walking in faith and when we have faith in Almighty God, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to fear! Yet, one of the most significant things I’ve observed lately is that the ONLY possible reason we live in fear and not in faith is because we DO NOT REALLY KNOW WHO GOD IS!!! And that is because we are not seriously and contemplatively reading and studying His Word. It’s just not possible to REALLY read to understand the Word of God and not know just WHO HE IS, how much He loves us, how faithful He is and just how awesomely powerful He is…AND THAT WE CAN IN FACT RELY ON EVERY WORD HE SAYS TO COME TO PASS EXACTLY AS HIS WORD PROMISES!!! So I want to share links to some previous Seeds Of Faith posts on this topic, which were shared in When the Power of our Problem vs. the Power of God’s Promise, along with some posts from the private site in the past twenty-four hours. And I pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in all of us, we will ALWAYS choose faith over fear and to keep our focus on the power and promises of God instead of the problems, because that is the only way to truly be blessed and encouraged and experience all that Jesus came to give us! So let’s learn to TRULY trust God and LET Him do what ONLY HE CAN DO!!!
I just want to say thank you all for your posts and praise reports. God’s love and power is so very evident in each of them! And I wanted to share some praise and an analogy that God has blessed me with these past weeks, which came to me as I was reading and responding to some of your praise reports and thinking about how to share mine.
God reminded me of the saying “You can’t see the forest for the trees.” And I thought of that as God revealed to me how we can miss so many of His blessings and miracles if we are so busy focusing on the situation or how we want things to go. Based on posts from several months ago, it might have appeared that I was unappreciative of all the contact I had with SNO (spouse name omitted). It wasn’t that I was unappreciative; I was just focusing more on my situation and trials (the trees) and not on God’s blessings (the forest).
And that’s more than just not “letting go;” it’s the enemy trying to set us up for defeat by blinding us by putting the trees in front of us even after we let go. He lies to us and tells us that the tree is bigger and more important than the forest because he wants us to “pick-up or take back” our situation and will use any means he has to plant trees; including our friends and family.
But God has other plans. If we submit and seek God, He will give us the ability to see His forests (our blessings). Psalm 146:8 says The LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. And Isaiah 42:16 says I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. THAT’S WHAT GOD SAYS—and we can ALWAYS count on that because HIS Word NEVER returns without accomplishing what HE desires and the purpose for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:10-11)!
As I looked back at the past few weeks and thought about this, I realized that when I take my eyes off the trees and use the sight that God has given me, I am filled with joy, praise and thanksgiving. And I have been blessed to see or talk to my wife several times since Christmas.
While our situation has not changed on the outside, and ALL of the trees are still there, God has shown me His forest. And His forest is love. When I look at the forest; I see that my wife does love me. Unfortunately, that love has been lost, and buried under years of hurt and disappointment. Nevertheless, my faith remains in God’s will and His plan for my life and our marriage.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17) So I want to praise the Lord and share the forest of gifts and blessings that God has blessed me with these past weeks:
An IM about Charlie Brown being on TV
The hugs and kisses when she leaves
-The little slips of her heart (out of the heart the mouth speaks) when she says things like “I don’t understand why they have an issue when we live in the same house” in regards to…
Being at peace enough at the house to nap in the chair
-The family dinner we enjoyed last week
-The occasional terms of endearment like Hun, sweetheart, sweetie
-Her staying at the house when I travel
-The chance to talk with her on the phone while I am traveling
-The chance to rub her back
-The ability to laugh and joke together
-Her bringing us bagels for breakfast…
-Her IM to tell me sweet dreams
-Her second glances back as she leaves the house
-Catching her looking at me, when she doesn’t think I can see it
And the list goes on and on with all kinds of other blessings. For God has given us a Forest of mass proportions.
1 Corinthians 2: 14 says The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he can not understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. And I used to think that this verse only applied to trying to tell others about God; about how without the Spirit man could not understand the ways of God. Well, when we walk in our human flesh and not in the Spirit, we are being foolish and blind and do not appreciate or understand the forests of blessings that God gives us. God gives us the choice to trust in Him and see the glory of His work. And He gives us a forest of blessings every day, and all we have to do is see beyond the trees. So I pray that we all see, understand, appreciate, receive and ACCEPT the forest that God gives us every day and rejoice!
You make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of your hands. (Psalm 92:4)
Earlier posts have used the following story Charles Stanley used in his message for today but it is such a powerful message I wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to hear it. And I emphasized some of it that really spoke to me. One thing that pops into my mind that Linda shares is that fear and faith cancel each other out. We have nothing to fear in Christ; fear comes from the enemy and hinders faith. As Charles says below, “God has called us to do something, the only hindrance is between our temples.” Keep the Word in your head and it will move to your heart where the enemy cannot touch it. Blessings.
InTouch by Charles Stanley – January 14, 2009
Focusing on God or Obstacles?
Numbers 13:25-14:10
The Lord gave the Israelites a commission to go in and possess the land of Canaan. The people needed a separate place in which to thrive as a God-centered nation. And He chose an exceptionally good country for their development.
So at the Lord’s direction, Moses sent 12 men to spy out the land. What a surprise when ten of them returned with frightening negative stories. All that these spies could see were the obstacles to taking ownership.
However, Caleb was certain that they’d “surely overcome” (Num. 13:30), because he was focused on God’s promises rather than the obvious difficulties. He based his confidence on God’s words to Abraham: “To your descendants I will give this land” (Gen. 12:7).
The people didn’t share Caleb’s faith–tales of giants and fortified cities scared them. Ordinarily, those would have been obstacles worth fearing. But the Israelites served a God who had proven that He could overcome anything: He’d parted the Red Sea to facilitate their escape from Pharaoh. And He fed them for two years in the desert.
Focusing on obstacles distorts our vision. Problems seem to loom so large that we can’t see to take the next step in faith. In reality, if God has called us to do something, the only hindrance is between our temples! He has already planned a way around, over, or through any barriers that might lie on the path to fulfilling His purpose.And when we, like the Israelites, give in to fear and refuse to move forward, we miss out on the great reward found in doing God’s will.