You may be walking through a "dry place" in your life, perhaps having a difficult time....a time when it seems that all your opportunities have dried up. It appears that your financial needs are not being met and your future looks bleak. You may even feel like your prayers are not being heard. Circumstances rise up against you and you don't see a way out. Such were the circumstances in Samaria in 2 Kings 6:24-30. The entire city was in severe famine being surrounded by the armies of the king of Syria who was determined to destroy them. The enemy wanted to take their city and possessions. They could not leave the city to trade or get food from the fields or goods.
"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him." (Colossians 1:16) There is another world that exists at this very moment on a parallel plane. It is invisible to the human eye, but just as real as the world we see. This invisible world influences everything that goes on in the earth. As a matter of fact, the earth itself was created from what we cannot see. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Hebrews 11:3)
Emotional wounds strike at the very heart of a person. Even strong and confident people who experience emotional upheaval can find themselves depressed and down in spirit. If you are like most people, you have had a "broken heart" at some time because of grief from the death of a loved one, loss of a pet, or divorce. Betrayal also can attempt to crush and break your spirit. Long before medical science discovered that stress, trauma, and emotional pain affect the physical body, the Bible revealed the connection between the spirit or what we call the "heart" of a person. "A sound heart is the life of the flesh; but envy the rottenness of the bones." (Proverbs 14:30)
When most people think of a Biblical "shield of faith," they picture the shield from Roman times which is what the Apostle Paul would have been thinking of when he admonished the church at Ephesus to put on the whole armor of God. The shield, sword, and helmet of Ephesians 6:10-18 are indicating a march into battle. When using this image of me holding the shield in front of me, I ran into a problem at night when I was asleep. How can I hold a shield of faith for protection when I am asleep???
Several years ago, my father gave a prophecy that said in effect, "Some things which require faith to believe now, will not require faith in the days to come, for it will eventually be proven to be scientific fact." When I first heard the teaching on faith and confession, it took a lot of faith to believe that you could have what you say. I had never heard of such a concept and had it not been for the fact that the principle was plainly written in the Bible, I would have considered it to be crazy. However, there it was in red letters, spoken by Jesus no less!
What are your first memories of money? What a strange question! But to me, it is important because I think your first encounters with money affect your life. It is the beginning of a relationship, like a first date with your spouse or memories of meeting your best friend. And that relationship continues. Many people have an adversarial relationship with money. They need it, but regard it as a necessary evil or they resent anyone who has more of it than they do. Likewise they may "covet" what others have or look down upon those who have less.
In the last issue of the Concepts of Faith, I wrote about the guidance of the Holy Spirit, specifically "knowing." Let's look at four of the ways that we perceive the Holy Spirit's guidance: 1. Knowing (See Concepts of Faith 1st issue 2018) 2. Seeing (Vision) 3. Hearing (Auditory) 4. Feeling (Kinesthetic). The most common experience among Christians is to be led by a "knowing." This could be described as "His Spirit bearing witness with our spirit." Others describe this as "I just had this feeling." Some report, "The Lord spoke to my spirit" or "I heard the Holy Spirit say to me..." Those who perceive guidance visually use terms such as "I saw in my spirit..." or "I just saw what God wanted me to do."
What has God been talking to you about lately? Has He been speaking to you through the scriptures? Did you hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit? Or did you turn the television on just in time to hear a message that seemed directed straight to you? There is no doubt that God continually tries to speak to us in many different ways. He wants to lead us out of bondage, every kind of bondage, and bring us into the Promised Land of freedom, health, and continual sustenance. What a marvelous thought – peace, rest, health. Did you think that was only possible in heaven? "Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments." (Exodus 6:6)
The word "agent" is defined as "a person who acts on behalf of another person or group" and "a person or thing that takes an active role or produces a specified effect" (such as an agent of change). There are agents representing two different kingdoms at work in this world. Whether we realize it or not, there is constant conflict between the kingdom of God and Satan's kingdom, and we are caught in the middle. We may not see the actual spiritual forces battling and competing for the lives of people, but we can see the results. And it is becoming more and more apparent that the forces of evil are controlling more and more people who are yielding to darkness. Those of us in the light are standing out more and more also, as the darkness grows greater, our light, the light of Christ glows as a beacon.
When the Spirit of the Lord leads you to do something, do you act upon it? Are you obedient to respond to the Holy Spirit? God can and does present you with opportunities to experience the abundance of His blessings, but you must step through the door. It takes an act of faith on your part to enter into His provisions. "Thus faith by itself, unaccompanied by actions, is dead." James 2:17 (CJB) "Indeed, just as the body without a spirit is dead, so too faith without actions is dead." James 2:26 (CJB)
Follow Up
