Desires (II)
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1, NKJV.
One of the definitions of the word ‘evidence’ is “signs or indications of something.” I love this definition because it points directly to the word of God. I believe that when we are walking a life in alignment with God, consistently seeking His face, and growing in His word, He will give us those “signs” or “indications” when He is getting ready to bring us into a new season in our lives – a season where we get to walk in the blessing of what was once a desire (or God’s promise). In my experience and study, God does this with a word. God moves in patterns, and one of those patterns is that the start of something begins with a word. (See John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”) The Earth was formless and void until God spoke a word. Everything that we know and are yet to know have and will begin with a word from God. There is such power in the word of God and the words God has spoken and continuously speaks over us.
God’s word is certain and there is action behind it. Romans 10:17 tells us that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” The word of God is a catalyst for our faith. When God is about to bring you into the blessing that began as a desire or promise from Him, it is his nature to send forth a word first. This must mean that the evidence of what you don’t see is that word! You don’t have to live in doubt, anger or discouragement because you don’t see it. If God said it, it is already yours. This is why it is so critical that we regularly seek to go deeper in our relationship with God. It is through this relationship that, at the appointed time, God will begin to speak to you, and reveal to you, what is yet to come.
“Lord, help me to be alert to the movement of your hand in my life. When you speak, may I perceive it in the exact way you want me to perceive it.”
If faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen, then having faith is a matter of believing God’s word over us. When I came to this realization, it stretched my faith in such a way that still sustains me to this day. If God gave me a word concerning something, my posture is not to worry about whether or not it is going to happen, but to prepare because I know that it exists and is to come. Posture is so important. It determines how you will walk into a season. Will you go in equipped and ready to steward your blessing well? Or will the blessing overtake and overwhelm you, leading you to lose it because you weren’t ready for it? This is all tied to our faith. Faith allows us to have a posture of patience to pray the right prayers because we believe in what we do not yet have.
“Lord, how can I partner with you to prepare for this next season? What are qualities or characteristics of mine that I need to deal with and take off beforehand? What are qualities or characteristics that I need to take on?” Ultimately, “Lord, who do I need to become for this? Show me how to be her. Show me how to be him.”
Faith takes us into a place of abiding in Christ, and his word in us to deepen us in our relationship with God. It gives us the ability to have insight into some of the challenges we may face so that we can be prepared and know how to respond. When we have faith, we have the opportunity for God to prepare us for His word and to build us in His word.
“Lord, build me in your word over my life.”