I Will Be With Thee

"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One..." Isaiah 43:2-3

As I read this chapter and reread this passage a few times today. I told the Lord, I don't want to be able to just quote these words but rather my life declare PROOF it's true. He gently whispered "It does because I am with you always."

Many times the enemy tries to plant seeds of doubt within us in attempts to detour our focus onto self or the waters, storms and fires. Whatever the doubt seeds may be, whether our love for the Lord, our walk with the King or our service unto Him. The Father by His Holy Spirit supernaturally redirects us by adding to our faith and redirecting us to His Word. 

When He says, "I am with you." Do you trust and believe Him?

Center of the Centurion

Center of the Centurion

"And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour." Matthew 8:13

For the full story, read Matthew 8:5-13. I love this account. What was the at the center of the centurion? PURE FAITH!!!

He, being a military commander knew the power of authority... speak it and it's done! This man had no problem asking Jesus to speak healing over his servant. Jesus was amazed at his faith and granted his petition. Isnt that amazing!?

This story should resonate with every believer in Christ! Sure, we pray. We ask for deliverance and healing, for peace and protection. We ask even for the impossible! How often though are we asking in PURE FAITH? We need to take a serious look, not necessarily at what we are asking for, but more so at the level of our faith.

James reminds us, "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." James 1:6-7

Did you catch that KEY ingredient? "Nothing wavering"! What does that mean exactly? It means that we MUST cast away any doubt. Often times, we know God is able. We KNOW He can, but we 1/2 heartedly give it to Him.

In every petition, may we too have FAITH as the centurion. God knows, He sees. He knows the needs and He sees if we come to Him fully believing and trusting Him or if we kinda want to give it to Him, but allow doubts to excuse our holding on to the issue.

Heart check, can you see situations you've fully surrendered in faith? Now, consider the things you want to hold on to and in essence doubt God's ability, His timing and His authority. Can you see where doubt has won and where faith has had the victory?