Day one starts talking about having one word for the year. Something the Lord wants you to focus on and teach you. It very much tells you to pray about your one word and seek God asking Him what that word should be. Well as soon as I had started reading the word Freedom popped in my head. OOOOO, yes freedom!!! That sounds like a great word. Freedom from some health issues that have been bothering me, freedom financially pay off some bills, freedom from worry and anxiety that I know are a stronghold in my family passed down for generations and I don't want to pass down to my own children, freedom from the negative chatter in my head tearing down my own self image, freedom from.....I could go on and on. So yes freedom must be our word. I hadn't prayed about it but it made sense. In my head my word was chosen, but I was going to finish the other 3 days. So I approached day 2 already settled on freedom, as well as day 3. Now I wanted to do it right so I was praying over it but praying along the lines of freedom must be our word right Lord, confirm that for me please. On the 4th day after I had finished reading the devotional and completed my plan I was praying when I felt God speak to me telling me freedom was not our word. Wait, what? I was so sure! Nope freedom was the result I was hoping for but to experience true freedom I needed faith...faith is our word.
FAITH? Are you sure this is our word? That is when he showed me that freedom comes through faith. Salvation is ours, freedom from sin, it requires faith. That I know, I have faith that He will provide for our needs, that He will give us guidance and direction in our life, that He can heal, comfort, give peace, joy, and so on. I have faith! That is when He lead me to Matthew 17....
14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” 17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well. 19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” 20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
What He showed me was that having faith in Him is one thing, having faith in Him to work His power through me is something else. The things I want freedom from are going to require me claiming the verse 2 Corinthians 12:9...
"9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me."
So hence starts my journey of faith for 2014. A journey God and I are taking together as He shows me a deeper understanding of what it means to walk by faith. I have FAITH that this journey will bring me freedom from the things that I have listed. My understanding of that has changed though, the freedom I seek is the freedom from bearing these things on my own and having faith that God will bear them for me. Freedom from the idea that I have to change things and having faith that He alone will help me make changes. In that freedom there will be change even if by the end of 2014 my health has not improved, my finances are the same, I am still battling worry, anxiety, and negative chatter, it will be ok. My faith will be deeper, stronger, and my trust in God will be enough because in my weakness He shows His strength and power.
FAITH? Are you sure this is our word? That is when he showed me that freedom comes through faith. Salvation is ours, freedom from sin, it requires faith. That I know, I have faith that He will provide for our needs, that He will give us guidance and direction in our life, that He can heal, comfort, give peace, joy, and so on. I have faith! That is when He lead me to Matthew 17....
14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” 17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well. 19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” 20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
What He showed me was that having faith in Him is one thing, having faith in Him to work His power through me is something else. The things I want freedom from are going to require me claiming the verse 2 Corinthians 12:9...
"9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me."
So hence starts my journey of faith for 2014. A journey God and I are taking together as He shows me a deeper understanding of what it means to walk by faith. I have FAITH that this journey will bring me freedom from the things that I have listed. My understanding of that has changed though, the freedom I seek is the freedom from bearing these things on my own and having faith that God will bear them for me. Freedom from the idea that I have to change things and having faith that He alone will help me make changes. In that freedom there will be change even if by the end of 2014 my health has not improved, my finances are the same, I am still battling worry, anxiety, and negative chatter, it will be ok. My faith will be deeper, stronger, and my trust in God will be enough because in my weakness He shows His strength and power.
