Get Your "But" Out of the Way

My wife and I are in the midst of a week of Spiritual "fasting." The noise is off. No TV shows, no video games, no sports radio. Simply the Word and all things pertaining to it. I have spent this morning praying and meditating on the Word as I prepare to embark on a task given to me by our youth pastor. Ally and I are privileged to be given the responsibility of writing and designing the youth devotional journal. God has been very gracious to us to remain faithful and patient with us all these years and to bring us to a place of responsibility such as this one. Naturally, I got frightened.

I am at a place where I am re-learning to trust. The purpose of shutting off the noise this week is so that we might retrain our spirits to hear from His Spirit. I have been spun around in circle for years regarding the Word of God. My pastor growing up (and now) has preached that the Bible is the un-compromised Word of the Living God. Then again, so did my professors at the university. So did all those preachers my aunt got me to listen to when I wanted to flush Christianity and the Bible down the toilet. However, they don't agree on hardly anything where the Bible is concerned. And that to this day frustrates me - and leaves me nervous to do anything for any church out of fear of getting kicked out. We all read the same book, but we read it in different ways. And that is largely based on experiences we have all had. But if we are to claim that the Bible is our final authority, then we must believe what it says, regardless of our situations. What Jesus says goes, period. 

 In 1John we learn the answer to our circumstances: God's Will. Unfortunately, most Christians do not know the Will of God, even though He has given each of us a hard copy of it in His Word. God Word is His Will, and what it says is the final say. It doesn't matter how you feel. It doesn't matter what your circumstances look like. It doesn't change the Word. Christians do not have the right to say, "yea, but." They only have the right to say, "yes, Lord." If the Bible says, by His stripes we are healed," then we are healed, regardless of what the circumstances may say. We are constantly making the mistake of "looking" to see if God did something. That is not faith. You already have to start over again. The Bible says Christians should be rich; it is called The Blessing, and it has been bought and paid for by Jesus (see Galatians 3), and it makes rich and adds no sorrow to it (See proverbs 10:22). Either God's Word is true, or it is a religious writing that I no longer have to spend my time reading. I choose the former. God's Word changes everything, and when we pray it back to Him, things change. 

The Amplified version of 1John 5:15 says that we have "as present possession" the things that we ask when we pry according to God's Will (His Word). That means we should come before God with excitement and expectancy, because we know our prayers are already answer. That's what God said! God promises answers. God promises health, wealth and wisdom. He longs to be gracious to us (Isaiah 30:18). Get you "but" out of the way and believe what God Almighty has to say. Don't look around wondering when or if God is going to move on your behalf. Pray the Word back to God, and believe His Word in 1John 5:14-15, that His Word will come to pass.

I about exploded off the couch as I sat before God meditating on this principle. The implications of it are stagering. His Blessing is on me, so I am rich. His healing is bought and paid for, so I am healed. His life is abundantly in me, so I will live a long time. His Word is mine, and it makes me wiser than all the learned. God is impartial, and desires all this and more to be upon everyone. Nothing is impossible... to them that believe (Mark 9:23). I like this Book! Now off to write a journal...