“If indeed you CONTINUE in the faith, GROUNDED and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
Colossians 1:23
In our life there are times when negative news come our way. We have a choice to either listen to them or stand on God’s Word. His Word teaches us how to overcome and conquer. There is a powerful key revealed to us in the above verse: be GROUNDED on the Word! CONTINUE in the Faith! Cling to the Hope of the Gospel!
We are not to be governed by our emotions in trying times. Yes, emotions are real; however, we cannot allow them to overrule the Word of God and stop us from receiving our breakthrough. We have to be governed by our faith in God’s promises.
In Romans 4:17, God speaks of the non-existent things, the things He has foretold and promised as if they already existed. We cannot underestimate the power of the spoken word. In the midst of the storms when our emotions try to overwhelm our faith, we must rise up and take authority in the name of Jesus.
The enemy will try to use our past mistakes against us. But know that old things are passed away and ALL things have become NEW in Christ! God will NEVER leave us nor forsake us especially during our time of need. God answers the cry of His children.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
The following is a testimony from Fern Moniz, one of the future leaders in our church: “I recently got a promotion at work. I went through the process and turned in all my documents that were needed. The next day I got an email that they forgot one last thing, a CPS background check. I didn’t have a good CPS history due to my old lifestyle of drugs, alcohol, abuse and neglect. Fear immediately gripped me in such a way that I began to sweat and panic. Thoughts of doubt and feelings of shame and embarrassment came over me. I fell to my knees and prayed that God take this situation from me. I knew that in order for me to get through this, I needed to get in my secret place and walk it out in faith. Scripture reminded me that I was not alone. I reached out for prayer and began to declare and believe in what the word said about my situation. I also began to pray for the people who would be handling my application.”
“On Sunday, Pastor Art ministered on The Gospel of Hope. The meaning of hope being, ‘A Joyful Expectation for a Favorable Outcome!’ When I heard that, I had an immediate joy come over me. I was finally able to understand that I needed to FULLY give this situation over to God and walk this out in faith. I started speaking to this mountain (fear) and casting it out and started seeing my situation through the eyes of faith! Promotion comes from the Lord!”
In Romans 4:20-21, we see how Abraham waited for many years to obtain the promise that God had given him: “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.” Paul wrote in the previous verse that Abraham’s faith did not weaken. He held fast to his faith. Abraham did not waiver in TRUSTING God. Instead, he grew stronger in faith and continued to give God the Glory.
In just the same way, Fern chose to trust in the promises of God and not the circumstances or her feelings. When faced with life’s challenges, we can either back down in fear or grow strong in faith. We need to confess the Word we hear. Find the promise of God that covers our situation and declare it out loud as if it had already come to pass! Believe that the God who speaks to you will do exactly what He promised. (Patti Matanza)
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“I choose to TRUST God. I will not waiver; I will not doubt the promises of God through unbelief, but I will be strengthened in faith, giving GLORY to God, being fully convinced that what He has promised He will also be able to perform in Jesus’ Name! Amen!”
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
- Old Testament: 2 Samuel 16-17; Psalms 114
- New Testament: Mark 15:1-15; Galatians 4:1-20
