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Yes, You Can....
by Shannon Heiden Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." (Numbers 13:20 NIV) Beautiful One, did you know that it's not who you are, but, who you think you are not that will alter the course of your life? Let's face it. We all have issues. Some of us have a lot more issues than others and because of the pain and pressure they can bring, it can be so overwhelming and even seem impossible to us to gain the victory in our lives. My friend, It is one thing to have an issue and it is another to let it have you.. Have you ever been known by your issues? You don't have a name anymore. You're a label. In this life we are going to face certain oppositions. May I suggest to you that even though we may be hard pressed today, we don't have to stay that way. The battle is fought and won in our minds. Perception is everything. It's not the problem that keeps us down; it's how we see ourselves in it. The bible says; "as a man thinks in his heart, so is he."(Proverbs 23:7 NIV) Expectation has a lot to do with our lives. We get what we expect. If we think we won't get anything better, it's almost a certainty we won't. On the other hand if we see ourselves as God sees us and we believe what He says about us, It is a sure thing that a soon coming reward is headed our way. The book of Hebrews says that "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, AND he that comes to God must "first" believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6 NIV) Did you hear that? God is a rewarder to those who diligently seek him. God rewards you for seeking Him. He honors your heart. You don't even have to find him or do everything right......but, you have to first believe him. If we want to please God, than we need to believe God. It really is that simple. Nothing makes the LORD smile more than when we take him at His word..... Believe Him when he says; that in Christ you are more than a conqueror. Believe Him when He says that you are never alone. Believe that our great God, the One who sits high but looks low, is at work on your behalf even if you don't see the results immediately. One of the reasons our prayer life can be lacking at times is that we really don't believe God is interested or even listening. Think about it, if we knew for 100 percent that something works, than wouldn't we be doing everything we could to make sure we did it? But if we have doubt, we wont do it. When others have failed, deserted or misunderstood us, and we have been our own worst enemy, sometimes we think God will leave us to ourselves until we get things sorted through. This is not true at all. The truth is; God rescued us and He still does, everyday of our lives. We have a Great God who completely understands us. God will give us a garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness. God will turn our mourning into dancing. God will make the crooked places straight. Our reward comes from God and God alone. Yes, He will use people, places and things to help us, but only God can give us the desires of our hearts as we diligently seek him. Only God can reward us and do exceedingly, abundantly, more than we can think ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20 Message) One of the greatest lessons I have learned is that the word "can't" needs to be eliminated out of our lives. The bible gives a great example of this. Moses sent twelve spies into the Promised Land and told them to explore it and come back with a report of what they saw. They spent forty days exploring the land. When they got back all twelve agreed it was a good land. But ten of the twelve said that there was no way they could take the land because there were giants living there. "They are too strong for us! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." (Numbers 13:33 NIV) But two of the twelve disagreed,"oh no, no, God is for us and we are well able to go in and conquer it, God is not with them but, HE is with us and we can do it." When the ten said they were grasshoppers in their sight, actually they were being very honest. They really did believe what they said. They believed they were the tail, not the head and because of it, they never even tried. Instead of looking at how big God was, they saw how big the giants were. Instead of looking to God, they looked at themselves. When we look at ourselves in light of our giants, we will always be a grasshopper. The other two, Joshua and Caleb had a very different perception. They believed, not in their ability, but in Gods They saw the giants, but they never forgot that God is God over any giant! Giants are sent into our lives not to destroy us, but to define us.To announce to the world, how great our God is. When a shepherd boy took down a giant, it was not his strength, wit or ability that did it. It was his belief in what God had told him. God told David he would be king. David chose to believe that if he was going to be king, then he couldn't possibly die at the hands of a loudmouth trash talking giant. David not only armed himself with a slingshot, but he armed himself with faith in what God said! David won, because David believed God. Joshua and Caleb entered the Promised Land because they believed God. And you, what about you? Do you believe God? Because when you do, nothing shall be impossible to you Beautiful One, just believe. And yes, you can..... Shannon Heiden [email protected] changingonelifereachingmany.typepad.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |