Month: February 2014

Shelter from the Storm

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The storm raged. The rain poured. The thunder roared. The lightning filled the sky. Nevertheless, she had no trouble falling asleep; it was late and she needed rest. Not long after, the room seemed warm. She thought to adjust the thermostat or turn on the fan, but not even a warm spell could fully disturb her slumber. Despite the warm temperature, her body was comfortable and at peace. She removed the top comforter, rolled over, and nuzzled into her soft bed.

When she awoke the next morning, only a remnant of the prior night’s storm remained. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, a new day had begun. As she looked around her room, she noticed the clock was blinking 4:37; evidence that the storm was indeed bad enough to cause the electricity to go out and return while she slept. She immediately thought of the warm spell which had attempted to disrupt her rest. “That must’ve been why I was so warm”, she thought. She then heard a soft whisper, Though the raging storm scare and even cause you discomfort, rest in Me. I will hide you in my arms and the storms of this world will not disturb your slumber. She was taken aback by such words of comfort and security.

Once again her Heavenly Father had used a storm to bring her a message of assurance, joy, and above all peace. He reminded her how “He made the storm be still” (Psalm 107:29) and, if she would seek Him as her refuge, He would be her ever shelter from the storm.

True Faith

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I have been hoping, waiting, and looking for God’s promises to come true, but as this revealed to me, that is not believing. It is not true faith.

Streams in the Desert – February 17

The land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. (Joshua 1:2 KJV)

God is speaking about something immediate in this verse. It is not something He is going to do but something He does do, at this very moment. As faith continues to speak, God continues to give. He meets you today in the present and tests your faith. As long as you are waiting, hoping, or looking, you are not believing. You may have hope or an earnest desire, but that is not faith, for “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1). The command regarding believing prayer is: “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). We are to believe that we have received – this present moment. Have we come to the point where we have met God in His everlasting now? from Joshua, by A.B. Simpson

True faith relies on God and believes before seeing. Naturally, we want some evidence that our petition is granted before we believe, but when we “live by faith” (2 Cor. 5:7), we need no evidence other than God’s Word. He has spoken, and in harmony with our faith it will be done. We will see because we have believed, and true faith sustains us in the most trying of times, even when everything around us seems to contradict God’s Word.

The psalmist said, “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Ps. 27:13). He had not yet seen the Lord’s answer to his prayer, but he was confident he would see, and his confidence sustained him.

Faith that believes it will see, will keep us from becoming discouraged. We will laugh at seemingly impossible situations while we watch with delight to see how God is going to open a path through our Red Sea. It is in these places of severe testing, with no human way out of our difficulty, that our faith grows, and is strengthened.

Dear troubled one, have you been waiting for God to work during long nights and weary days, fearing you have been forgotten? Lift up your head and begin praising Him right now for the deliverance that is on its way to you. from Life of Praise