Don't Think About the What If’s
July 18, 2017:
The following is a text I shared with a friend about a revelation I had.
Me:
Good morning! Please be meditating/praying on the reality that this is happening! Do not let ANY negative thought enter your mind. Don't think about the “what if’s.”
A response from a young Friend:
You know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. You must let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing… he must ask in faith, without any doubts, for the one who has doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. Such a person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he undertakes. James 1
What is this faith the Bible speaks of? What is this power that Jesus says heals the sick and raises the dead?
“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” Hebrews 11:1
What is the testing of our faith? It is the gap between that which we “hope for” and it “actually happening”. What if we received everything we “hoped for” instantly? We would have no endurance, no chance to grow and mature in faith - in the ability to hope, push our will to yearn for what we long for and believe it exists, even in the face of the current reality, that it doesn’t exist. Not winning the first ticket is a testing of our faith. If our faith is fully mature today, then we win - it is spiritual law. If we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can have mountains tossed into the sea. If our faith is not complete and this ticket loses, then we have a choice. We can look at what is seen and discontinue our “confidence in what we hope for” or we can choose to grow even further in faith until it is mature. This is “walking by faith, not sight”.
Love you all. I’m glad to be a part of your family.
Me:
I often feel that I totally annoy people, but on chemo days, the new realities and images God was blessing me with were overwhelming. I wanted nothing more than to share the wonders of this beautiful, absolutely amazing Savior. Many of the folks I love in life were bombarded with my “chemo day” texts. I couldn’t keep my joy and thankfulness to myself. I continue to process what I received those days and the days since. I am one blessed human, Happier than I’ve ever been in my whole life. God’s timing... wow. So perfect. Talk about unexpected means! I love Him beyond my words. I'm grateful you were part of my journey. I love you.