1 John 5:14-15 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
Faith: the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen; faith the size of a tiny mustard seed; the faith of the Son of God….( Hebrews 11:1; Matthew 17:20; Galatians 2:20 KJV )
Holy Spirit and I have been talking about faith and why we tend to compartmentalize it. Why do we have faith for some things, but not others? Holy Spirit’s answer to me on that very issue was, “Because you don’t believe it is the same faith. You believe only for certain things or areas.”
We have a very long driveway as you can see in the picture above. At the end of it there is dirt rather than asphalt. This past Spring, Ron and I became concerned about it washing out because the snowplow had winged it back further than usual and we had more snow melt. We could just picture it tearing up the lawn. One day as we were discussing it, the Lord said, “Ask Me!” I knew exactly what He meant and said, “Father, would you please take care of the driveway so it doesn’t wash out the lawn?” As simple as that! He did it! Thank You Father! What happened was the weather was warm enough to melt during the day and the Lord made it windy (I call the wind the Lord’s blow dryer.) and then at night, it got cold enough to stop the melting. We had no problems at all.
A couple of months later, Ron drove two hours south to help his parents and aunt take down some dead trees. He was driving out of the woods and hit the bottom of his truck pretty hard on an unseen stump. After he got home, he noticed some fluid on the driveway and knew it was the transmission. He began to be concerned because transmission repairs are expensive. Still, small voice, “Tell him it’s just like the driveway.” I did and we asked the Lord to take care of it. Ron took the truck in and when they were done he asked how much he owed. The mechanic told him it was free because it was under warranty. Praise Jesus!
In both of these cases, we started by imagining what was going to happen. We talked about it and worried about it. It works the same for faith. The Lord has spoken things to us and given us His written Word. When we hope for something, we have an idea of what it looks like. I don’t have the full revelation of this, but I know that it bears witness in me. Has He told you something and you are still waiting for it? What does it look like? If He said it, then it is for sure.
In the Greek (Strong’s 4102 and 3982) it says faith is: conviction of the truthfulness of God, agree, assure, believe, have confidence and trust. ( Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers 1990)
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.
Holy Spirit, please help us to understand and exercise the faith that is in us. Help us to see as You do and to not make things so complicated, but just to take You at Your word and to agree with You and believe you. We love You and we praise You. Thank You so very much for Your help. Amen!
